Using social media for competitive business outcomes

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the drivers, practices, and outcomes of social media use in the management of organizational supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Online questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 285 organizations representing different industries in China. The data then were analyzed with structure equation modeling using SmartPLS. Findings The results indicate that key antecedents such as external pressures, internal readiness, expected benefits, strategic goals, and perceived risks influence organizational social media use, which subsequently impact organizational performance outcomes in operation and marketing as well as the satisfaction level of both internal and external constituents, such as customers, employees, partners, and suppliers. Research limitations/implications The study obtained data about one organization from only one respondent and did not used random sampling. Practical implications This study provides insights on why and how companies should use social media for relationship building and business outcomes. Originality/value Drawing from the resources-based view, social networks, strategic choice theory, and technology organization and environment framework, a new social media utilization model for business outcome was established and testified using empirical data. This study is one of the first studies that adopts technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework of technology adoption theory to study organizational social media use. The findings in this study confirm the validity of the TOE framework for analyzing social media adoption and use in various organizations.