A Conceptual Review of Social Media Adoption in SMEs
Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are not well equipped to use Social Media (SM) and struggle to utilise its full potential in the context of adding value to the business. It is suggested that SMEs often need strategic guidance and support, particularly
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University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham Building, Chatham Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZH, UK {hanaa,c.moxham,m.tickle}@liverpool.ac.uk Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, KING Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abstract. Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are not well equipped to use Social Media (SM) and struggle to utilise its full potential in the context of adding value to the business. It is suggested that SMEs often need strategic guidance and support, particularly with regard to optimising SM. The question remains as to how effectively SM is embedded in the business operations of SMEs. This study examines how SM adoption can be realised by SMEs. It considers how SMEs can adapt their business strategies under changing circumstances by adopting SM in their daily practice. By integrating the current models of technology adoption (including the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) and InnovationDecision-Process from Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) frameworks) a conceptual framework for achieving SM adoption is developed and presented. The results of this study provide a helpful synthesis of the extant literature and act as a useful springboard for further work in this important area. Keywords: Social media · Small to medium sized enterprises · Technology adoption
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Introduction
This study investigates how Social Media (SM) adoption can enable effective and improved business performance in Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The study considers two practical dimensions identified as Technology-OrganizationEnvironment (TOE) and Innovation-Decision-Process from Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theories with the aim of exploring the role each theory plays in developing and supporting an environment whereby SMEs can create a sustainable business. A frame‐ work for achieving SM adoption is presented which highlights the interaction processes as well as the various stages of developing a SM adoption plan. Important criteria, models and factors were considered to evaluate the extant literature, and how SMEs may practically progress from one level to the next in order to keep growing their business. The main objective of this study is to reveal the extent to which SM adoption is applied in SMEs and how it may contribute to the success within SMEs. It is envisaged that the successful implementation of the SM adoption framework will allow SMEs to increase both their flexibility and internal capabilities. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2016 Published by Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. All Rights Reserved Y.K. Dwivedi et al. (Eds.): I3E 2016, LNCS 9844, pp. 240–250, 2016. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-45234-0_22
A Conceptual Review of Social Media Adoption in SMEs
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Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Although large firms are leading the market in most industries and dominating some industries’ market shares, many studies have concluded that the global economy is enhanced by SMEs that are focused, small, innovative and flexible
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