Outline
- Abstract
- Keywords
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Literature Review
- 2.1. Social Media
- 2.2. the Technology Acceptance Model (tam)
- 2.2.1. Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use
- 2.2.2. Results Demonstrability and Image
- 2.2.3. Perceived Barriers and Organizational Innovativeness
- 2.3. Theoretical Model and Hypotheses
- 3. Method
- 4. Analysis and Findings
- 4.1. Trends in Social Media Use by B2b Organizations
- 4.2. Model Test Results
- 4.3. Triangulation of Findings
- 5. Discussion
- 6. Conclusions
- 7. Limitations and Future Research
- Appendix A.
- Appendix B.
- References
رئوس مطالب
- چکیده
- کلیدواژه ها
- 1. مقدمه
- 2. بازنگری مطالب قبلی
- 2.1 رسانه اجتماعی
- 2.2 مدل پذیرش فناروی (TAM )
- 2.2.1 سودمندی و کاربرد ساده درک شده
- 2.2.2 قابل شرح بودن و تصویر نتایج
- 2.2.3 موانع و نواوری های سازمانی درک شده
- 2.3 مدل و فرضیه های تئوریک
- 3. روش
- 4. تحزیه و تحلیل و یافته ها
- 4.1 روند ها دراستفاده رسانه اجتماعی توسط سازمان های B2B
- 4.2 نتایج تست مدل
- 4 -3 مثلث سازی یافته ها
- 5. بحث و تبادل نظر
- 6. نتیجه گیری ها
- 7. محدودیت ها و تحقیق آینده
- ضمیمه A
- ضمیمه B
Abstract
This study contributes to the current dearth of knowledge on the potential of social media as a marketing tool in industrial settings, by focusing on factors that determine social media adoption by B2B organizations. A conceptual model, which draws on the technology acceptance model and resource-based theory, is developed and tested using quantitative data from B2B organizations in the UK. Findings suggest that perceived usefulness of social media within B2B organizational contexts is determined by image, perceived ease of use and perceived barriers. Additionally, the results show that adoption of social media is significantly affected by organizational innovativeness and perceived usefulness. The moderating role of organizational innovativeness is also tested but no support is found. The findings of the study are further validated via nine qualitative interviews with B2B senior managers, yielding additional interesting and in-depth insights into the drivers of social media adoption by B2B organizations.
Keywords: Adoption - B2B - Resource-based theory - Social media - Technology acceptance modelConclusions
This study contributes to the limited research on social media in a B2B context by building on previous work (e.g. Michaelidou et al., 2011; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000) to model determinants of social media adoption by B2B organizations. The findings suggest that perceived usefulness and organizational innovativeness are the key drivers for the adoption of social media by B2B organizations whilst perceived ease of use was found to be an insignificant adoption driver in this specific context. Perceived usefulness is, in turn, found to be negatively affected by perceived barriers and positively affected by image enhancement. The results of the post-hoc qualitative interviews with B2B managers also suggest that perceived pressures from key stakeholders (i.e. buyers and competitors) may also influence the adoption decision.
Hence, in addition to its theoretical implications, this study is relevant for B2B organizations that do not currently use social media, but plan to invest in the near future. Our results illustrate that overall B2B companies appreciate the use of social media in enhancing their image, which might suggest that there will be an increase in B2B companies investing in social media. In addition, B2B organizations that have not yet adopted social media for marketing purposes are likely to face increased pressures from prospective and existing buyers who might wish to interact via this platform, and also (indirectly) from competitors who will increasingly use these tools to their advantage. B2B organizations that intend to adopt social media should seek to enhance their managers’ perceptions about the usefulness of social media, and address the perceived barriers through training programs that will enhance employees’ skills in social media and identify the importance and relevance of social media within B2B organizations and their industries. B2B organizations that have used social media platforms effectively might also develop case studies focusing on practices adopted to enhance perceptions of usefulness within and across their organizations with the aim of encouraging more organizations to have presence in social media platforms. With regards to training, governmental bodies and trade associations could provide programs designed to equip organizations with the necessary skills to overcome the identified barriers and subsequently use social media more widely.