Business Research Proposal: Social Network Advantages/Disadvantages

This research proposal explores the impact of social networks on business performance, examining both the advantages and disadvantages of their use. The proposal investigates how businesses utilize social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote themselves, attract customers, and manage feedback. It delves into strategies for leveraging data mining techniques and reaching the right customers effectively. The literature review covers various aspects, including the benefits of social media for communication, advertisement, feedback mechanisms, and online retailing, while also addressing the challenges of cyber insecurity, misuse of resources, negative comments, and software updates. The research aims to understand the balance between the positive and negative outcomes of using social networks in business and to identify strategies for mitigating risks and maximizing benefits.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Business Research Method Research Proposal
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

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BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Project Objective.............................................................................................................................2
Project Scope...................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................5
Primary Questions.......................................................................................................................5
Secondary Questions...................................................................................................................5
Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................................5
Data collection.............................................................................................................................5
Sampling Frame...........................................................................................................................5
Data Analysis...............................................................................................................................6
Qualitative Research....................................................................................................................6
Quantitative Research..................................................................................................................6
Research Limitations.......................................................................................................................7
Time Schedule.................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Reference.........................................................................................................................................9
Appendix........................................................................................................................................11

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Social Networks in Business
Introduction
The research proposal is about the advantages and disadvantages of using social
networks. Though social network helps to improve the performance of business and there are
business promoting itself on social media platform helps the business to gain a huge global
customer base, but business has to handle negative feedbacks from customers in social media
platforms. The purpose of this research proposal is to understand whether the positive outcomes
of using social network in business outweigh the negative outcomes.
Project Objective
 To understand the negative effects of using social media platform by business.
 To understand the strategies that business use to promote itself on different social media
platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?
 To understand the tactics and strategies used by business to handle negative feedback
from customers in social media platform?
 To understand how business uses data mining techniques and promotes itself on social
media platform to the right customer at the right time?
 Project Scope
The scope of this research proposal is to identify the strategies that business adopts in
promoting itself on social media platform like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The proposal
will also reflect on the ways usage of social media improves the performance of business. This

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proposal will also be helping the future researchers in conducting further research on the topic
and it will also help the readers to improve their knowledge regarding the subject.
Literature Review
Advantages of Using Social Networks in Business
The social network is one of the technological improvements that have to lead to the
growth of many businesses in the world. This, therefore, explains the many advantages of a
social network to business. There is much business that today its can attribute their success to the
vast network of social media. Some advantages of a social network are communication platform,
business advertisement, feedback mechanism, contact information, business research, online
retailing, increase opportunity and marketing avenue.
Modern business considers the social network as the mode of communication where
business management can use to pass information to junior employees or customers. As Baker et
al (2012) can explain social media or social network being the fastest form of communication
that currently attracts many users gives both public and confident information. For instance,
Heerde, Leenheer, Bijmolt & Smidts (2007), indicate that WhatsApp is one of the best social
media applications that can be used to pass confidential communication between management.
Most of the businesses currently have switched from formal communication that mostly
composed of memos and letters to social media since it’s the current trending mode of
communication. In addition, Cristina (2012) explains that social network has proved effective
especially as its facilitate faster delivery of information as compared to other former modes of

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communication. This means that social network can facilitate immediate feedback and often
reach a large number of people at the same time.
The social network in business has proved to one of the successful advertisement media
with most users in Australia and globally. Using social network helps advertisers to reach over
16 million users within Australia alone. According to Trudy & Chang (2016), manufacturers, and
companies, in general, can introduce new products into the market through social network
campaigns. A good design advertisement disseminated into social media or network may pick
immediately leading to the success of the new product in the market. As cited by Peter & Scott
(2011), the social network also enables advertisers to share all the necessary information about a
product that allows consumers to make an informed choice about the product. The social
network has; therefore, transform business advertisement within Australia and around the world.
Social network enables a business to collect all the feedback information about a product
or service. According to Gentle (2012), both advertisers and business, in general, can currently
collect all comments about a product especially from users and potential customers. Nowadays
some social networks such as Facebook and Twitter allow users to comment as express their
thought about products or advertisement. As Wellman (2008) explains, a social network can help
review help manufacture evaluate the product performance. A study by Bowler & Brass (2011)
indicates that currently, most social network application has customer rating system enabling
rating of satisfaction. As Denise (2013) confirms social media application especially those
mobile software that easily integrated to devices hence users can use at their comfort.
Paniagua & Sapena (2014) explains the far social media has taken marketing research as
many social networks have been turned into surveys. Customers who purchase products over the

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social media are allowed to comment on products and their taste of the product. According to
Stretton & Karklins et al (2015), marketing research can easily be conducted online as customers
and potential customers are given chance to express their opinion about products. Moreover,
business research is easier on a social network as users feel involved as compared to other
surveys. The business research utilizes application cookies that allow site visitors leave
information about products. Cranmer & Desmarais (2011) cites some organizations that
currently utilize data from a social network to evaluate advertisement viewers. In addition, pay
per click adverts is used to show the number of viewers that click adverts within the social
media.
Social network helps expands online retailing since it has enabled online selling of
connection between sellers and buyers. The social network is currently connected to most online
retail shops or online marketplace. This according to Agozzino (2012), social network makes a
good traffic control element that attracts views from a social network which is healthy. The
social network also works to popularize online businesses since its has capability of opening the
same retail page within social media. As indicated by Granovetter (2005), online retailing is an
innovative idea that can be traced to increase social network, online users. Though Stretton &
Karklins et al (2015) contradicts use of social media in online shopping by an indication that not
all users can buy products, the social network remains good online market place.
Yochai (2006) conducted a study on a social network and indicated that social network
also widens the business opportunity to sell products both online and in shops. Social network
increase business opportunity beyond location limits since social network connect the business
with other new people. According to Rodrigo & Abraham (2012), developing appealing adverts

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attracts several users that are potential customers who buy products and services. In an
agreement, Kassotakis (2010) explains that catchy adverts attract many viewers that are curious
to find more about the service or products leading to contact. This remains a single problem of
utilizing opportunity as pointed out by Granovetter (2005). As Cristina (2012) concludes those
businesses that are connected to social network remains attractive and has wider opportunity to
sell products abroad. This does not leave a clear connection between opportunities widen and the
exact change in the purchase of products within the business.
Disadvantages of using social networks in business
Rodrigo & Abraham (2012) shows that despite the many advantages that may be cited on
a social network to the business, it could not lack challenges or disadvantages that can result
from using a social network. Some of the most common disadvantages of in cooperating social
networks in business include cyber insecurity of business due to hacking, low production due to
misuse of a social network by business employees, negative comments by social network users,
the potential avenue for scams and requires frequent software updates.
According to Gloor, et al (2013), one of the most serious concerns about using the social
network in business is cyber insecurity. Trudy and Chang (2016), also affirms that hackers have
currently increased in number making social network security lower than before. Cyber
insecurity may result in the downfall of business in the event of cyber attack as most hackers
currently target social network due to many users. Moreover, as Stretton & Karklins et al (2015)
confirms, cyber attack makes business to lose millions of dollars and this is the recipe for
business collapse. Similar research by Bowler & Brass (2011) shows that social network is a

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major catalyst for hackers entering the system that can vastly affect numerous businesses
especially those connected to one social media page or application.
Though social network has been advertisement platform, expression of opinion on a
certain product has proved destructive. Rodrigo & Abraham (2012) indicates that negative
comments on the social network may derail product performance leading loss of funds by
advertisers. A similar study by Cristina (2012) also confirms that sharing of adverts in social
media may also trigger emotional gung against a product or service as users respond differently
on adverts. In addition, according to Huan and Kathleen (2016), dissatisfied customers can write
or comment negatively about a service or product though there are minimal adverse feedback
about that service or product. Stretton and Karklins et al (2015) summarizes cyber bulling of an
employee is the worse experience that a business can get on a social network.
Another disadvantage of a social network is the misuse of social media’s pages or
resources by business employees. As explained by Peter and Scott (2011), business with social
networks normally suffers from misuse of internet resources for their own benefits. Social
network such as Twitter or Facebook page for an organization has been reportedly misused by
business employees who update their individual profiles instead of business. The productivity
tied to adverts on the social network may reduce due to misuse of pages by employees as Denise
(2013) comment on the disadvantage of social network and subsequently systems.
Software frequent update is the grievous challenge to business using social media or
network since it poses more security challenge. As reported by Estrada (2011), most mega online
businesses like Amazon have good e-commerce software that is linked with security firewalls
before connection to social network plugging. In order to effectively use social media, George

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(2011) advises every business to update its software especially security firewalls so that it can
shield the business from hackers and virus. Kassotakis (2010) contrast the issue of software
update indicating that software update is taken care of by social network website and application
developers. Paniagua and Sapena (2014) also agree on the software update as one of the business
threat links on a social network.
Another area of challenge according to Gloor, et al (2013), is the growing scam and sales
of fake services or products. A Recent study by Huan and Kathleen (2016) shows that many
business and employees have become victims of a scam or fake services that are advertised on
the social network. Agozzino (2012) cites some of the businesses that have experience theft or
loss of millions of dollars to scam suppliers. Cranmer & Desmarais (2011) explains that some
fake business was not initially scam but due to huge sums of money they trade in leads to
challenges of handling customers hence scam. In contrast, Yochai (2006) claim has been refuted
by Rodrigo & Abraham (2012), the author cites that once a business has been entrusted to handle
sums of money there is a need for a good monetary system. When confirming this Ariel &
Avidar (2014) also indicates that business that deals in a monetary system need to remove any
fear of mishandling of funds leading to scam.
Research Questions
Primary Questions
 How can social network improve the performance of business?
Secondary Questions
 How can social media platforms like Facebok , Twitter, Instagram, Youtube me managed
in an integrated manner?

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 How does customer’s negative feedback in social media affect the performance of
business
 What are the promotional strategies adopted by business on different social networks?
 What are the strategies related to handling negative effects of social media like negative
feedback from customers?
Data collection
Research is depending upon both primary and secondary data, whose collection is done
from books, informal discussions as well as journals. Questionnaire will be providing the
pertinent information based upon the objectives.
Sampling Frame
The research is mainly based upon the primary data. In respect of the random sampling
process, it is being utilized as primary data collection. This process will be implying the selection
of 10 companies and interview the customers and employees of that Company who use social
network for business randomly within the country. Through this process, it assists in random
selection of 100 employees as well as to understand their requirements in respect of research
purpose.
Data Analysis
Qualitative Research
In respect of the size of the sample, sample of 100 employees from 10 random
Companies within the country will be considered. The data collection method that will be
considered is the interview process and regarding this, there will be occurring 5 open-ended
questions regarding the advantage and disadvantage of social media. The responses that are

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being received from the respondents are required having a descriptive assessment. The reasons
for undertaking descriptive research are as follows,
1. To have the effectiveness to do the evaluation of topics and issues that are non-qualified.
2. To have the opportunity to integrate the qualitative processes in relation to the aspect of data
collection.
Quantitative Research
A survey will be conducted by providing the respondents with questionnaires. There will
occur the process of collecting empirical data and it will be used for achieving the research
objective. The sampling method that will be taken into consideration is the random sampling
method and the sample size will be 100 customers who use social network site. The research
approach that will be considered is the deductive approach of research. There will take place the
survey as well as questionnaire design. The quantitative data evaluation process that will be
considered is the method of statistical data evaluation. To conduct the validity and reliability
regarding the data, co-relation, regression and Anova test will be getting considered.
Research Limitations
 Deficit in budget – There might be the aspect of limiting the deficit in budget to conduct
the research. The budget deficit will hinder the research process.
 Lack in time – Because of having a dearth in time, the research might occur in a hurried
way and due to that, there might occur the skipping of major sections regarding the
research.

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 Respondent’s biased attitude – The respondents may not provide the correct reply
regarding every question in the questionnaire because of their biased mindset in respect
of specific matters (Pinder 2014).
Time Schedule
Activity Week 1 Week 4 Week 8 Week 12 Week 14 Week 16
Selection of the topic
Background Review
Data Collection
(Survey &
Secondary Data)
Review of data
Analysis of data
Recommendation
Final Submission
Figure 1 Gantt chart
(Source: Created by Author)