Social Media and SMEs in Transition Countries

Abstract

The consequences of social media applications are experienced at every level in an organizational context, but they are arguably most extensively experienced in developing effective marketing communication strategies. Drawing on constructivist perspectives, recognizing the socially constructed realities embedded within this evolving techno-cultural construct, the current chapter suggests that understanding social media must begin not in the technological domain, but in the way in which users negotiate meanings between and amongst themselves in the Internet ecosystem. This could potentially help marketers to develop effective marketing communications programmes. Understanding the co-evolution of social media connectivity and sociality in the context of the emerging culture provides deeper insight into how SMEs, particularly in transition economies, could adapt to and contextualize values of openness and connectedness offered by this technological tapestry. Certain conditions in which the deployment of cultural transformation is likely to succeed are identified, and a future empirical research agenda is suggested.