1 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................2 Theory and progression in use of social media.........................................................................2 Common themes.........................................................................................................................3 Difference in themes..................................................................................................................4 Study limitations........................................................................................................................4 Future directions proposed in the articles..................................................................................5 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5 References..................................................................................................................................6 Appendix....................................................................................................................................7
2 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Introduction In the current study we have focussed upon the importance of social media in real world management. Within the current decade the social media has gained considerable importance and is used by business organizations for conducting market research. One of the most important aspects of using social media by business organizations is to study and analyse the customer behaviours. The feedbacks provided by the customers over social media regarding a range of products can further help the organizations customize and improve their services accordingly. In the current study we have analysed the importance of social media within business organizations. There are different theories and concepts guiding the use of social media in business contexts, a few of which have been critically discussed in the later sections. Theory and progression in use of social media The social networking and the pattern of its uses had hugely evolved within the last 50 years. Though, the advent of e-mail happened in 1960, it was not made available to ht general public till 1991. The e-mail technology helped in the sharing of messages from one computer to another. It was followed by development ofARPANET(Advanced Research Projects Agency) in 1969. It formed an early network of time-sharing computers based on which internet evolved. Social media was further developed during the 1970s in order to give real time virtual world experience using multi-user dimensions. Some of the theories such as the social information processing (SIP) theory guides interpersonal communication between a computers mediated environment (Siricharoen 2012). Additionally, some of the theories have defined social media as platforms where people interact freely sharing and discussing information and are structured by topics (Trainoret al.2016).
3 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS By 1990s many social networking sites were developed such as Black Planet, Asian Avenue etc. By 2004, many common names had already entered the market such as facebook, YouTube, Cyword, Yahoo! 360. Common themes The importance of social media in business context has been further discussed with the help of a number of scholarly journals. The journals have been extracted from secondary databases such as google scholar, pubmed, NCBI, SCIENCEDIRECT etc. These have been extensively studied for finding out some of the common theme which are-online sharing of knowledgeandinformationamongdifferentgroupsofpeople;personaltopersonal communication with the organization(Baruah 2012; Siricharoen 2012). The different article evaluated over here highlights the importance of social media in the sharing and dissemination of knowledge among wide public platforms. These are mainly structured around common areas of interest ranging from hobbies, education, music, culture, friends, and social communities (Felixet al.2017). As mentioned byParveenet al.(2015), internet and social media technologies provide one global roof to the world. Additionally, the social media pages used by organizations allow the target customer segment to lodge their complaints regarding the products and services directly to the company executives. As mentioned byAgnihotriet al.(2016), the advent of social media has allowedforthedeliveryofproductsand servicesinmuchrealtime.Moreover,the informative user interfaces allows the target customer segments to check the products and services before making the decision of availing them. The free interactive surfaces also help in the development of user interface.
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4 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Difference in themes The different themes which were highlighted though the article were –infusing creativity in social mediaandenhancing customer engagement online. In theage of digital communications and social media there are thousands of webpages which are displaying the same information based upon viewers preferences search history. However, we would only like to go to a page, which would disseminate much useful information in a concise manner, as there lays difference between reading a voluminous book and a social media page. As suggested byTrainoret al.(2016) internet is supposed to provide much coherent and structured information in much real time. Hence, designing the WebPages in a creative fashion can help in attracting the maximum number of target customer segments (Siricharoen 2012). This could be done by making the WebPages more concise, informative and colourful, which optimizes most of the information in a small space. Additionally,userengagementisanotherimportantconcept,whichcouldbe maximized using appropriate marketing gimmicks and strategies (Vinereanet al.2013). For example, facebook, instragram, whatsapp are some of the most used social media platforms which attracts people of all age groups. Therefore, pasting in a link leading to the product information and details in some of these sites can enhance user engagements. Study limitations There are a number of limitations to this effect where when a number of secondary data such as organization’s website and documentation are accessed there is least guarantee that the data might be accurate (Derani and Naidu 2016).
5 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Thelimitationsassociatedwithquantitativejournalsareunsystematicsampling proceduresandlow response rates of online surveysfurther act as hindrance to this effect (Vinereanet al.2013). Therefore, the business research conducted using online social media are subjected to confounding biases, which can affect the end results of the research. Future directions proposed in the articles The limitations discussed above may provide further avenues for future research. Some of the research articles failed to discuss the demographic variables such as age, gender, sex and nationality which again guide the responses of the candidates to a great extent. These openthegatewayforfutureresearchwhereallthesefactorswouldbetakeninto consideration for doing the research analysis. Additionally, the small size of the samples again provides confounding results. Therefore, future research studies should be developed in a manner which can take into consideration large sample sizes. Conclusion The study here discusses the advent of social media and its implications in today’s business world. Social media has brought about a revolution in the context of the global business by providing a much larger platform for people to discuss regarding their products and services. It not only provides a boost to the business objectives but also generates sufficient customer awareness. It also helps in the promotion of some of the themes such as the importance of creativity in social media and enhancing customer engagement.
6 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS References Agnihotri, R., Dingus, R., Hu, M.Y. and Krush, M.T., 2016. Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales.Industrial Marketing Management,53, pp.172-180. Baruah, T.D., 2012. Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study.International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications,2(5), pp.1-10. Derani, N.E.S. and Naidu, P., 2016. The impact of utilizing social media as a communication platform during a crisis within the oil industry.Procedia Economics and Finance,35, pp.650-658. Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P.A. and Hinsch, C., 2017. Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework.Journal of Business Research,70, pp.118-126. Parveen, F., Jaafar, N.I. and Ainin,S., 2015. Socialmediausageand organizational performance:ReflectionsofMalaysiansocialmediamanagers.Telematicsand Informatics,32(1), pp.67-78. Siricharoen, W.V., 2012. Social Media, How does it Work for Business?.International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology,3(4), p.476. Trainor, K.J., Andzulis, J.M., Rapp, A. and Agnihotri, R., 2014. Social media technology usage and customer relationship performance: A capabilities-based examination of social CRM.Journal of Business Research,67(6), pp.1201-1208. Vinerean, S., Cetina, I., Dumitrescu, L. and Tichindelean, M., 2013. The effects of social mediamarketingononlineconsumerbehavior.InternationalJournalofBusinessand Management,8(14), p.66.
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7 BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS Appendix Provide reference for each academic article (formatted using the Harvard Referencing Style) Conceptual article (proposed theory) Siricharoen, W.V., 2012. Social Media, How does it Work for Business?.International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology,3(4), p.476. Quantitative article Vinerean, S., Cetina, I., Dumitrescu, L. and Tichindelean, M., 2013.Theeffectsofsocialmediamarketingononline consumerbehavior.InternationalJournalofBusinessand Management,8(14), p.66. Qualitative articleDerani, N.E.S. and Naidu, P., 2016. The impact of utilizing social media as a communication platform during a crisis within the oil industry.Procedia Economics and Finance,35, pp.650-658. Mixed method article Baruah, T.D., 2012. Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communicationanditspotentialfortechnologyenabled connections:Amicro-levelstudy.InternationalJournalof Scientific and Research Publications,2(5), pp.1-10.