Keeping up the pace of digitalization in small businesses–Women entrepreneurs' knowledge and use of social media

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to explore how women entrepreneurs in small businesses encounter digitalization and learn to use social media at work by combining theoretical perspectives from research on women entrepreneurs in small businesses, digitalization and use of social media and digital skills in response to calls from earlier research regarding women entrepreneurs' adaptation to an increasingly digitalized world.Design/methodology/approachQualitative methods were applied including a total of 13 in-depth interviews in two phases, in 2017 and 2019, with 11 women entrepreneurs in nine small businesses, along with observations of their digital presence.FindingsThis study contributes with new insights regarding women entrepreneurs' behavior and ways to acquire digital skills to keep up the pace in digitalization. Learning by doing, informal learning and step-by-step self-development entrepreneurial behavior were practiced along with strategical recruiting of young digitally skilled employees, i.e. digital natives. Findings state that in order to remain competitive and generate business growth, women entrepreneurs constantly have to learn new skills to capture the potential of digitalization especially regarding the knowledge and use of social media. The women entrepreneurs emphasize challenges of digitalization as limited resources, constant need of new digital skills, digital stress or even burnout due to internal and external demands on online presence, scanning and maintenance of social media platforms. In contrast to earlier research, the women entrepreneurs did not express any significant gender stereotyping online, yet they strongly emphasized the continuous challenge of work––life balance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to an under-researched field with novel research combining theories from women entrepreneurship and information and communication technologies (ICTs) related to digitalization with a special focus on social media. Following the era of digitalization, the women entrepreneurs have to act as digital entrepreneurs finding new innovative ways of doing business. The importance of recruiting young digitally skilled employees in small businesses is vital for women entrepreneurs, since the needed learning and business development takes place when digital natives and digital immigrants work together.

Exploring social media usage as a communication channel among independent food retailer SMEs in South Africa

“…Although this finding might seem to contradict the accessibility of this medium as a communication channel, it is important to note that familiarity of the social network platform does not suggest the ability to extract full value from this channel as illustrated above and confirmed by He et al (2017). This is notion is also consistent with findings of McCann and Barlow (2015); Ndiege (2019); and Olsson and Bernhard (2020).…”

“…Other factors that might influence the adoption of social media as a marketing medium are the age and the literacy in online communication by the business owner. A trend towards investing in people within a company rather than outsourcing to carry out the social media strategy function was noted by several studies (He et al, 2017;Bae & Zamrudi, 2018;Olsson & Bernhard, 2020).…”

“…There is a growing body of literature on social media and communication strategies in mainly developed nations. Ainin et al (2015); Bocconcelli et al (2017); Bae and Zamrudi (2018); Appel et al (2020); Chatterjee and Kumar Kar (2020); Fan et al (2021); Gabbianelli and Pencarelli (2021); and Siti-Nabiha et al (2021) have investigated factors influencing the adoption of this ICT channel, whereas others have conducted enquiries into the extent and mode of social media implementation (Harris & Rae, 2009;McCann & Barlow, 2015;Taiminen & Karjaluoto, 2015;Barnard et al, 2017;Torres de Oliveira et al, 2020;Olanrewaju et al, 2020;Olsson & Bernhard, 2020). From an African developing country perspective, researchers such as Badenhorst-Weiss and Cilliers (2019); Das ; Makhitha (2016); Amoah and Jibril (2021); and Lányi et al (2021) investigated factors affecting competitiveness and the impact of marketing strategies on profitability.…”

“…Several inquiries assert that additional research is necessary to investigate the use of social media marketing by SMEs in other countries (Lepkowska-White et al, 2019;Gabbianelli & Pencarelli, 2021;Kwon et al, 2021), especially in developing countries (Alzougool, 2019;Qalati et al, 2021;Salam et al, 2021). Rajahonka and Villman (2019); Olsson and Bernhard (2020);and Siti-Nabiha et al (2021) stress that further research is required to explore how SMEs use and implement social media, as well as investigate the associated benefits and drawbacks. Alzougool (2019) emphasizes that additional research is necessary to consider social media usage by SMEs from a business-to-consumer context.…”

A Pragmatic Approach for Evaluating and Accrediting Digital Competence of Digital Profiles: A Case Study of Entrepreneurs and Remote Workers

“…Despite this, insufficient effort has been made on analyzing the importance of digital technologies in shaping entrepreneurial opportunities, decisions, actions, and outcomes (Nambisan, 2017). Other contributions to the digital entrepreneur research have been focused on investigating the adoption, utilization and implications of the great advances in digital technology, such as mobile applications or digital technology platforms (Beliaeva et al, 2019;Durkin et al, 2013;Evans & Schmalensee, 2016;Hayter et al, 2017;McIntyre & Srinivasan, 2017;Nambisan et al, 2018;Olsson & Bernhard, 2020;Srinivasan & Venkatraman, 2018).…”