The adoption of social media tools for enhancing small and medium enterprises' performance: A synthesis of innovation of diffusion and technology-organisation-environment frameworks

Abstract

This study examines using social media to enhance business performance within the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. The research integrates the innovation of diffusion and technology-organization-environment frameworks to explore this phenomenon. A cross-sectional research design facilitated data acquisition via an online questionnaire administered to 938 participants operating business entities within the Harare region. SmartPLS 4.0 software enabled the analysis of data and the application of the partial least squares approach to identify the interrelationships among the measurement components. The data analysis and testing of the proposed hypotheses used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that integrating theoretical frameworks provided the determinants that insightfully examined the acceptance and utilisation of social media. The technological construct items of relative advantage, presence attributes and visibility, and interconnections and interactivity are essential factors to consider. Organizational features of top management support and entrepreneurial orientation in contexts prioritising innovativeness positively influenced social media adoption. Thus, senior managerial support as an integral component has been deemed crucial in determining a company's attitude towards adopting social media, mainly where the inseparable roles are relatively high in smaller business entities. This managerial support is especially true when leveraging social media to enhance marketing capabilities, responsiveness and improve decision-making processes. The trait of innovativeness, associated with the entrepreneurial orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has been primarily examined within the diffusion of innovation theory. The organisational agility and renewal process is a critical factor influencing how SMEs adopt and implement sustainability innovations. Environmental measures refer to external factors that exert pressure and create uncertainty, particularly concerning the level of competition. The findings of our empirical study indicate that external pressure and environmental uncertainty are key antecedent factors that significantly influence the adoption of social media by SMEs operating in the multi-industrial urban centre district of Harare, with a relatively functioning information technologies communication infrastructure in Zimbabwe.