“Social Media Adoption in Business-to-Business: IT and Industrial Companies Compared”
By Celine Veldeman, Ellen Van Praet, and Peter Merchant
International Journal of Business Communication, 2017, 54(3), 283-305
Research Question
How do Belgian business-to-business (B2B) companies perceive and react to social media?
Methods
The researchers surveyed 92 Belgian companies about their social attitudes and activities. They also conducted in-depth followup interviews with 11 of the companies.
Key Findings
42% of the companies were experimenting with social media without a specific social media strategy or action plan
41% of IT companies (software, web services) were developing social media strategies
Only 27% of industrial companies (construction, engineering services) were developing social media strategies
Most companies deem social media a good tool for a) cultivating brand awareness, b) sharing a company image, and c) recruiting
“… deciding how to use social media in the right way to achieve set goals is considered to be very hard” (p. 293)
Advice for the Field
Recognize that a customer’s, employee’s, and potential employee’s expectations about a firm’s social media presence is highly influenced by the dynamics of the industry sector
Avoid treating social media as a “stand-alone” communicative endeavor divorced from other essential organizational tasks
Acknowledge the difficulty of crafting a useful social media strategy and encourage experimentation
Researcher Approved Summary Pending
Research Spotlight Author:
Phillip G. Clampitt, Ph.D.
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