Merits and Demerits of Applying Social Media in Developing Business Networks

This document explores the merits and demerits of applying social media in developing business networks. It discusses the benefits of using social media platforms for interacting, maintaining relationships, building networks, and conducting research. It also examines the effects of online communities and cultural influences on businesses using social media.

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 1
Merit and demerits of applying social media in developing business networks
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MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 2
Table of Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................3
Research questions......................................................................................................................................4
Research question one.............................................................................................................................4
Research question two.............................................................................................................................4
Research question three...........................................................................................................................5
Reference list...............................................................................................................................................6

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 3
Abstract
Social media has different views in the informational systems (IS). Philosophical foundations
have elaborated on four framework theories that can be compared and applied to social media. A
comparison is made between the four social media theories empirical findings. Future research is
recommended since some concepts in the use of social media have not been fully investigated.
There are four main theories that qualifies the investigation. These theories include: Goffman’s
presentation of self, Sartre’s existential project, Bourdieu’s social capital and Heidegger’s
shared- world. The findings indicate that, Goffman argument is based on describing different
situations that are organized within the physical environs. Bourdieu’s theory is discussed among
different groups as opposed to the Goffman theory. The social capital is different from economic
capital and they are all in a position of being converted into economic capital in the long run.
The remaining two theories are not used to describe social media in informational systems.

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 4
Research questions
Research question one: How does social media used in developing networks?
Social media is a term that refers to interactive forum that enable individuals to share their views
and relevant information in a global world. There are various types of social media platforms
namely wikis, websites, social networking and bookmarking. Some of the new forums of social
media includes Facebook page, LinkedIn platforms among others (Trainor, Andzulis, Rapp, and
Agnihotri, 2014 p.1201-1208). There are many benefits associated with using social media
platforms. Some of these benefits includes: Social media acts as an interacting forum, it also
boosts and maintain strong relationships in the professional field, it builds business networks that
enable entrepreneurs to reach out for larger markets for their products in the local and
international markets and finally the platform acts as a research center where people can carry
out their research on various topics of their concern. According to Leonardi, 2014 p. 796-816,
Facebook, Instagram and twitter platforms are known to provide interactive benefits to its users.
People are able to link with diversified friends from different countries and they are able to share
ideas, views, jokes among other entertaining practices. According to the statistics of 2016, users
of these sites are about 1.71 billion.
On the benefit of boosting and maintaining professional relationships, LinkedIn platform is used.
Different professionals are able to update their details concerning their careers and skills that
they have and potential employers are able to locate them in an easy way. Better presentation on
social media especially LinkedIn is reported to link unemployed individuals to their employers.
Social media platforms boost networks for entrepreneurs to their potential customers. Through
this platforms, businesses are able to advertise their products and reach out easily to a larger
market in the whole world. Business men and scholars undertake research on social media
websites to gain relevant information concerning market conditions and educative information
respectively. However, research findings indicated that, social platforms enable business people
to devise important strategies that promote expansion of their enterprises in the long run (Wiertz,
and de Ruyter, 2007 p. 347-376). To use these platforms, an active data bundle is required and
the platforms requires user to have gadgets like mobile phones, tablets or laptops.
Research question two: What are the effects of online community on the business?

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 5
Online community refers to communication and interactions of people and organizations via
social media platforms. Online community is facilitated by the development of technologies in
communication especially computers and internet accessibility. Customers and sellers are able to
blog, play games, send messages and chat with each other through online community
(Groenewegen, and Moser, 2014 p. 463-477) All these activities promote strong relationships
among the internet community. Through online forums, producers are able to post all products
that they produce for buyers to view them and select their best products. Products can be posted
in YouTube, Facebook and even twitters platforms. Through the posting of products in the media
sites, producer’s products are able to be reviewed and the feedback is used to improve and the
image of the products. Product reviews can be either positive or negative depending on the
opinion of customers. The reviews made in the media sites may affect the relationship between
producers and consumers of the products (Purnawirawan, De Pelsmacker, and Dens, 2012.
P.244-255). Those products with a higher rating attracts many customers due to the believed
trusts that buyer have in the product. Reviewing products in the social media enables buyers who
have no idea concerning the advertised products in the internet to make informed decisions using
the information provided by the reviewers. Positive product reputation enables businesses to
remain competitive in the markets against their rivals. Products with negative reputations within
the online community affects the trust that customers may have towards the business thus less
sales which may bring losses to the enterprise. Customer rating assist businesses to make
corrections concerning the products so that they can maintain their relationships with their
customers and to attract new buyers for their product in the internet portal.
Research question three: How does the effects of culture on social media affect the business?
Social media is comprised of individuals from different countries which have different cultures.
Through social media, business people can conduct research to determine the customers’ needs
before establishing their business (Chen, Chen, and Xu, 2016 p.237-268). While establishing
strategies for business in the online platforms, different cultures should be put into consideration.
Ignoring the cultures of different people in the social media may make the business to fail in its
operations in the efforts to attract their potential customers. Various cultures that does not
support the company’s products can be blocked to prevent them from making negative
comments and reviews that can change the mindset of other customers towards the products

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 6
(Pookulangara, and Koesler, 2011P. 348-354). Carrying out market research will significantly
assist the company to establish customers likes and dislikes before channeling products to the
online community. Combining business with online platforms greatly benefits a company due to
wider markets and also can destroy the image of the products if any dissatisfaction issues are
reported by potential customers especially when products in the social media does not comply
with the cultures of some users of the social media.
Conclusion
Online platforms like Facebook, Instagram among others are believed to provides strong
connections and interactions between companies and their potential customers. For the case of
the already established brand, social media plays a major role of expanding its linkages to the
international world. Through social media, businesses are able to attract and maintain new
customers and also maintain existing customers (Nambisan, 2002 p. 392-413). Businesses can
also be affected by online community platforms. The buying behavior of customers are either
affected by the ratings that products have or the prices of the products. It’s important to note that
customers can build brand loyalty irrespective of the product reputation. Countries are
differentiated by different cultures. While expanding businesses in the social media, business
man must conduct research concerning the prevailing culture of their customers to prevent their
business failure due to culture issues.
Reference list
Chen, Y., Chen, H. and Xu, L., 2016, August. Social Media and eBusiness: Cultural Impacts on
the Influence Process in Consumer Communities. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science
and Engineering (Vol. 142, No. 1, p. 237-268). IOP Publishing.
Groenewegen, P. and Moser, C., 2014. Online communities: Challenges and opportunities for
social network research. In Contemporary Perspectives on Organizational Social Networks (pp.
463-477). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Leonardi, P.M., 2014. Social media, knowledge sharing, and innovation: Toward a theory of
communication visibility. Information systems research, 25(4), pp.796-816.

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF APPLYING SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS 7
Nambisan, S., 2002. Designing virtual customer environments for new product development:
Toward a theory. Academy of Management review, 27(3), pp.392-413.
Pookulangara, S. and Koesler, K., 2011. Cultural influence on consumers' usage of social
networks and its' impact on online purchase intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, 18(4), pp.348-354.
Purnawirawan, N., De Pelsmacker, P. and Dens, N., 2012. Balance and sequence in online
reviews: How perceived usefulness affects attitudes and intentions. Journal of interactive
marketing, 26(4), pp.244-255.
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.
Wiertz, C. and de Ruyter, K., 2007. Beyond the call of duty: Why customers contribute to firm-
hosted commercial online communities. Organization studies, 28(3), pp.347-376.