Social media usage and competitive advantage of nascent agro-allied firms

Abstract

The clear decreasing survival rate of nascent firms and their inability to compete favorably owing to increasing competition in their internal and external environment was the motivation for this study. Hence, the paper addressed fundamental issues on nascent firms’ competitiveness through examining the direct and indirect influence of social media usage and technological infrastructure capability, respectively. Sample data of 265 nascent firm managers in the agro-allied sector were collected and analyzed with the aid of Hayes Regression Process Macro. The results showed that social media positively affects the competitive advantage of nascent firms. Further, the study found that technological infrastructure capability significantly affects the competitive advantage of nascent firms. The study found that technological infrastructure capability positively mediates the relationship between social media usage and nascent agro-allied firms’ competitive advantage. The study advances the need for a change in the way nascent firms adopt social media and advocate that the use of social media can be supported through developing a gradual knowledge of technological innovation that is within the confines of the firms’ resources.