Effects of Social Media on Consumer Product Adoption Process

This research proposal aims to investigate the effects of social media on the consumer product adoption process. It includes a detailed statement of the research problem, proposed research aims, objectives and research questions, justification and potential output of the research project, conceptual framework and hypothesis development, and research methodology.

Running Head: EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 1.
Effects of Social Media on Consumer Product Adoption Process
Name
Institution

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1.0 Introduction
Technological advancements have revolutionized the modern corporate world and
primarily through the rapid growth of social media. Social media has grown from a social
interaction platform to one of the most significant platforms for enhancing business marketing
strategies with some companies using the platform to extend their product or services campaign
to a broader range of customers (Tuten et al., 2018). Social media has been found to have a
significant influence on every stage of consumer decision making and therefore has been used by
companies to gain a competitive advantage in the market by improving their interactions with
their consumers. Consumer decision making is influenced by many factors which have an impact
on their consumption behaviors (Ramprathap et al., 2017). Understanding consumer behavior
and decision making are very critical to the success of a business. However, it is essential to
understand the factors influencing the change in consumer behavior. With the new order of
social media marketing companies have developed integrated systems and also have adopted the
use of social media programs to meet the needs of their organizations (Macarthy, 2018).
However despite the change of company marketing tools, change in how consumers get to know
about products or even the shift in consumer behavior, it has remained the fact that consumer
product adoption process does not change. The method of customer product adoption has
continued unchanged, and therefore this study aims to develop a research proposal on the effects
of social media on the consumer product adoption process.
The research project will be organized in different sections which will help us in building
and enhance our understanding of the effects of social media on consumer product adoption.
Section one of the project proposal will provide an introduction to the overview of the
underlying issues in this study. Section two will give a detailed statement of the research

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problem while section three will provide an analysis of research aims, objectives and research
questions. Part four of the proposal will provide a detailed justification and potential outcomes of
the research project. Chapter five provides a conceptual framework analysis of the project wile
section six provides a review of the research methodology and presentation of secondary data.
Lastly section 7of the project proposal will outline the organization of the study, the proposed
project budget as well as the timeline schedule for the project.
2.0 A detailed statement of the research problem
Social media has emerged as one of the most significant platforms for a variety of
purposes, such as market research and analysis, customer interactions, marketing & advertising,
and a lot more. It has revolutionized the modern business activities and marketing strategies.
However, the business organizations in the present era are still not accustomed with the measures
and practices that they shall adopt to gain the maximum out of the social media channels and
data sets (Chen, Chen & Xu, 2016). Different scholars have engaged in various research studies
in understanding the effects of social media on consumer behavior, consumer purchasing
behavior as well as on their decision making. However, three is limited research developed to
determine the impact of social media on consumer product adoption process (Wang & Kim,
2017). Therefore, this project proposal will investigate the effects that social media has on
consumer product adoption process for better decision-making and development of marketing
strategy.
3.0 Proposed Research aims, objectives and research Questions
The research aims to investigate the primary, secondary, and tertiary effects that the
various social media channels have on the consumer product adoption process. The study also

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aims at identifying these effects in multiple industry sectors and the social media data sets that
may be used for the purpose. The benefits of the procedure, tools and techniques, the role of
social media in consumer decision-making process, and primary challenges will also be covered
(Hajli, 2014).
For effectiveness and reliability of our project proposal, the findings of the project will be
guided by various research objectives as well as questions. The first objective of the project will
be to provide an understanding of the concept of consumer product adoption and the process
involved in helping consumers make adoption decisions (Greve, 2014). The project seeks to
provide a detailed analysis of the social media practices influencing consumer behavior and
decision making. It is the objective of the company too to give an understanding of the effects of
social media on the consumer product adoption process. The proposal also seeks to define the
procedures, tools, and techniques used in developing social media strategies to contribute to
improved consumer decision-making process.
3.1 Research Questions
RQ1. Does a social medium impact consumer product adoption process and what are the likely
effects of social media influences on consumer decision making process?
RQ2. Does a social medium influence the various stages of consumer adoption process or will
the process remain unchanged as it has been over the past years?
RQ3. Does consumer decision-making process have an impact on their product adoption
process?

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 5.
4.0 Justification and potential Output of the Research project
Many scholars have developed their studies in understanding the effects of social media
on consumer behavior such as their purchasing decision, decision making as well as the impact
of social media on consumer tastes and preferences and brand development. Research has also
developed on understanding the impact of social media on organizational or business marketing
strategies and general business performance regarding revenue development (Jeong et al., 2017).
However, I believe that there is limited research or a literature gap in understanding the effects of
social media on the consumer product adoption process. This research, therefore, aims at
developing a research proposal that will enhance knowledge development in understanding the
impact of social media on consumer behavior and thus filling the existing literature gap (Wang &
Yu, 2017). The research will, therefore, be critical in helping organizations and business develop
effective marketing strategies by understanding the consumer product adoption process and how
the use of social media can influence it.
The project is expected to produce various outcomes based on the findings concerning
the effects of social media on the consumer product adoption process. This informs that despite
the different product marketing strategies that can be developed by business, consumers will still
use the same method of consumer product adoption (Wang et al., 2017). The research will
contribute to the development of effective organizational marketing strategies that will help to
increased business performance. The findings will also contribute to increased knowledge and
understanding of consumer behavior and decision making.

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5.0 Conceptual framework and hypothesis development
The rapid growth of social media use has led to the growth of a virtual community and
has been very influential to consumer behavior and most important in their purchasing decisions
(Faraji‐Rad et al., 2017). The development of social media platforms for business marketing has
increasingly become a critical source for customers who use the platforms to seek information
about the products and also share their opinion about the product and brand as well. Consumers
or buyers are said to be stimulated by their social interactions environments concerning product
purchase decision making. This is because some consumers feel secure or confident of using a
product that has received overwhelming feedback through the various social media interaction
platforms (Verhoef et al., 2017). Therefore social media has developed a social interaction tool
which is very useful for the provision of information about the products at their different prices
though evaluation of the brand choices in making any purchase decision.
For effectiveness of social media to influence the consumer product adoption process
then it must be able to control each stage of product adoption. The process is comprised of five
different stages including; creating product awareness, product interest, product evaluation,
product trial and production (Rahman & Mannan, 2018). Despite the changes in company or
business marketing tools, changes in consumer behavior, or even on how consumers acquire
product information the process of consumer product adoption has remained the same. Therefore
the effect of social media on consumer product adoption is dependent on the impact of social
media on the four stages of the adoption process. Different scholars have identified that social
media plays a significant role in creating product awareness since it has been successfully used
by business for marketing company brands, goods, and services (Chen et al., 2017). Through the
various social media platforms, companies can improve their interactions with their target

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 7.
customers and contribute to increased customer base and revenue. The management of the
company can also focus on developing a strong social presence that will help in enhancing
product awareness.
Social media affects the consumer’s product interest; this stage occurs after product
awareness. The company can, therefore, develop various websites, videos or even blog sites
where the potential consumers can access more information and sustain their interest in the
company products (Truong et al., 2017). Product evaluation helps in differentiating your product
or service from other product lines. The assessment provides the consumers with a solution by
evaluating the products which are valuable and are cost effective. The consumers purchase a
product for trial before deciding whether to continue consuming the product or not. If the product
satisfies the consumer needs and demands, then they gain confidence and adopt the product
improving the product production (McIntyre & Srinivasan, 2017). The development of social
media platforms can, therefore, be instrumental in taking the consumers through these steps of
product adoption process without the company having to incur other marketing associated costs.
5.1 Hypothesis development and testing
Hypothesis 1 Ho; social media development does not contribute to a change in consumer
product adoption process
Ha; social media development can improve consumer product adoption
behavior
Hypothesis 2 Ho; consumer decision making is not influenced by the product adoption
process
Ha; consumer decision making is influenced by the process of product

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 8.
adoption
Hypothesis 3 Ho; Social media contributes negatively to consumer product adoption process
and decision making
Ha; social media contributes positively to consumer product adoption process
and improved decision making
6.0. Research Methodology
The research project will include the mix of the research methodologies as qualitative
methodology and quantitative methodology.
The qualitative methodology will include exploratory techniques and measures to
understand the implications that social media has in the product adoption process of the
consumers (Scuotto et al., 2017). There will be data collected from numerous data sources, and
there will also be techniques that will be utilized for the collection of the data, such as domain
analysis, surveys, questionnaires, group discussions, interviews and many others. The data
collected will then be analyzed using the automated analytics tools to understand the effects. The
quantitative methodology, on the other hand, will include mathematical tools and concepts to
research on the topic. Under this methodology, the data and information will be obtained from
the social media channels, and other data sources and the numerical data will be formed which
will then be converted to statistical data to understand the results (Wisdom et al., 2011).

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 9.
6.1 Secondary Data Source(s) & Data
The primary data source in the research process will be social media channels and accounts, such
as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and many others.
The secondary data sources will include the company websites, mobile applications of the
business organizations, data from the marketing channels, customers, and end-users. The data
sets will then be analyzed with automated analytical tools.
6.2 Data Collection Methods
The data will be collected using a variety of methods.
There will be surveys conducted and questionnaires distributed to the consumers, market
experts, representative of the business organizations, business analysts and experts to obtain their
response on the usage of social media, purchase criteria, associated patterns and details to get the
trends and effects of social media on product adoption process (Lin et al., 2017). There will also
be domain analysis done for every industry sector to have an in-depth knowledge of the varied
effects that the social media platforms may have in different industries.
There will also be group discussions organized to obtain the viewpoint of different
entities in a collaborative environment. This may lead to the revelation of the ideas and concepts
not identified before (Paradis et al., 2016). Interview sessions shall also be organized with
specific users, experts, and business representative to have a one-on-one discussion on the effects
that social media may have on the product adoption process. The other data collection methods
shall include brainstorming sessions, observations, historical data and information gathering. The

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 10.
data sets collected using all the specified techniques will then be analyzed, and the irrelevant
games will be discarded. The ones found relevant will be analyzed using data analytics tools.
7.0 Organization of study/ project Budget/ Scheduling
7.1Organization of the study
Chapter one; development of the research proposal introduction outlining overall overview of
the statement under analysis
Chapter two; a description of social media marketing strategies and platforms and their effect
one consumer product adoption process
Chapter Three; will include the details of research methodology – literature review, data series
and surveys (data collection methods), observing critical indicators of regression and data
analysis methods.
Chapter Four; Provides a report of Findings and Analysis of the proposed research.
Chapter Five: provides a summary of the essential findings and a discussion of their potential
implications developing effective strategies to improve the effectiveness of strategic
management strategies in handling business conflicts in the current business world.
7.2 Budget, Project Activities and Gantt chart
There is need to develop a budget for the research to facilitate a smooth process of
conducting the proposed research. The study is expected to be carried out at an approximated
time frame of three months. Within this period an estimated budget of $ 7000 is required. The
budget will be developed specifically for research activities such as conducting a literature

EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER PRODUCT ADOPTION PROCESS 11.
review, data collection and data analysis and the associated costs for active project development.
Below is a summary of the proposed estimated budget.
Proposed task or activity Estimated Budget per activity
Development of literature review and research
methodology
$ 1500
Data collection ( both primary and secondary
data)
$ 4000
Data analysis, presentation and reporting $ 1500
Total proposed estimated budget $ 7000
7.3 Project activities and milestone schedules, Gantt table
Proposed activity Starting date Ending date Duration taken
Development of research problem
statement , literature review,
conceptual framework and research
methodology
01/06/2018 15/06/2018 2 weeks
Primary data collection and
organization
16/06/2018 29/06/2018 2 weeks
Secondary data collection and
organization
02/07/2018 14/07/2018 2 weeks
Data evaluation and analysis through
fact finding
16/07/2018 15/08/2018 4 weeks
Preparation of the final report 16/08/2018 23/08/2018 1 week

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Submission of the final report 24/08/2018 30/08/2018 1 week

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