Analyzing Social Media's Influence on IKEA UK Performance

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The impact of social media on the business performance of IKEA,
UK

Table of Contents
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
LO2................................................................................................................................................12
LO3................................................................................................................................................28
LO4................................................................................................................................................30
Reference List................................................................................................................................32
Appendix........................................................................................................................................34
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LO1
Produce a research proposal that clearly defines a research question or hypothesis, supported by a
literature review [P1]
Introduction
In recent time social media platforms is becoming the common place for networking, communication and
content sharing at a greater extension. There are a lot of companies who are currently seeking business
opportunities in context of social media platforms. However, the specified link in between resource
generation and different social media platforms are not being exploited in recent contexts. In addition to
that, different traits of social media platforms are still needed to be extinguished at a greater extension.
Background of the research
In earlier years people generally gave attention towards the conventional methods of media such as
newspaper, radio, television system and much more for entertainment purpose. Besides that, those
conventional media was also being used for gathering news from all over the world. In addition to that,
different organization used those conventional media in order to give advertisement of their prefabricated
products (Kim et al., 2015). However, in recent context the most useful and profound media can be
described as social media. The introduction of social media platforms in recent context is current
changing the diverse effects and implications of media systems. Social media can be described as the best
way to make communication in free of cost and without acing much difficulty, which is the main reason
why different organizations are currently using social media platforms to communicate with their
consumer base (Jones et al., 2015). Through the help of this specific study, the core impact of social
media platforms into business performance will be evaluated extensively.
Aims and objectives
The key aim of this particular study is to assess the impact of social media platforms into diverse business
performance of IKEA, UK. The objectives of this assignment are as follows:
 To gather significant knowledge regarding the positive impacts of social media platforms into
the operations of IKEA, UK
 To analyze the impact of social media platforms into consumer buying behaviour
 To identify the negative impact of social media platforms into the business operations of
IKEA, UK
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 To evaluate the ways of decreasing the negative impact of social media platforms into the
business operations of IKEA, UK
Research questions
Research questions of this specific assignment have been elaborated below:
 What are the positive impacts of social media platforms into business operation of IKEA, UK?
 What are the impacts of social media platforms into consumer buying behaviour?
 What are the negative impacts of social media platforms into business operation of IKEA, UK?
 What are the ways to decrease the negative effect of social media platforms into business
operations of IKEA, UK?
Rationale of this study
The key issue regarding this study revolves around the impact of social media into prefabricated business
performance (Quinton and Wilson, 2016). Social media can impact business performance through many
ways. Social media can help business organization to promote their products and service. Social media
can help to reach out towards a vast majority of consumers without the concerns of time, place and price.
However, there are also some negative issues that revolve around using social platforms into business
operation such as poor employee turnover, complex approach and many more. Recommendations to
minimize those problems will be provided.
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Literature Review
Introduction
Literature review acts as a guide for the researchers because it contains the past works of the scholars so
that the outcome of the study can become effective. In this study, the present trend of social media has
been critically analyzed. In addition to that advantages of social media on business have also been
discussed here. On the contrary, the challenges of social media have also been critically discussed here.
Moreover, theories of social media such as “Previous Media theory” have also been analyzed here.
Lastly, The Impact of social media on Business activities has also been discussed here.
Present trend of social media in UK
Presently, the advent of technology is helping the organizations to earn profit because the products get
promoted among the targeted customers in an effective manner. As per the literary underpinnings of
Siamagka et al. (2016), the organizations need to launch social media pages so that newly launched
products can get promoted among the customers in an effective manner. On the contrary Rodriguez et al.
(2015), has mentioned that at times the organisation promote false features of the products through social
media in order to attract large number of customers. As per the report of online survey, in 2018, the rate
of internet users has been increased by 90%. However, in the year 2017, the rate of internet users was
89%. Thus, it can be mentioned that technological advancement has changed the technical behavior of the
customers. Moreover, 2% of the disabled citizens of UK also use internet connections for commercial
purpose.
Figure 1: users of internet
(Source: ons.gov.uk, 2019)
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As per the comment of Siamagka (2016), organizations can use various social media channels such as
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to expand their business in global market. In UK 5.6 million of
individuals use Facebook on daily basis. On the other hand the rate of users decreases along with age. In
the year 2018, the rate of Twitter users have been increased 2.5 Million. Therefore, it has been proved
that Facebook is more beneficial for business purpose because its rate of users is more as compared to
Twitter.
Figure 2: Rate of Facebook and Twitter users
(Source: ons.gov.uk, 2019)
Advantages of social media in business performance
The advantages of social media has been discussed below
Instant communication
As per the comment of Ngai et al. (2016), social media is beneficial for business purpose because the
management of the organizations can easily communicate to the customers. For instance Tesco has
launched a feedback system through Facebook so that they can resolve customer’s issues. As asserted by
Dong (2015), if the management of the organizations communicates instantly to the customers then the
rate of customer’s loyalty will also get enhanced.
Business productivity
As per the opinion of Ngai (2015), through Facebook the productivity of the organizations can also be
increased because the products get promoted among the targeted customers on time right time. For
instance, Morrisons is considered as the fastest growing supermarket on social media. Additionally, it has
been noted that Morrisons profit rate has been increased by 374 Million because it has 1106% followers
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on Twitter alone. In the year 2018 more 6000 followers have been added on twitter account so that the
competitive advantage of the organisation can be enhanced. On the contrary, Morrisons Facebook page
has 1.5 Million new users (maruedr.com, 2018). At time of launching new products Marks and Spencers
uses Facebook poll in order to analyze the taste and preference of the customers. On the contrary Dong
(2015), has mentioned that at times the organizations fail to analyze the market because the taste and
preference of the customers keep on changing.
Challenges of social media in Business operation
The challenges of social media have been mentioned below:
Profit of the organisation
The profit of the organizations at time fails because of lack of technical knowledge among the customers.
In addition to that at times the information of the customers gets hacked by the professional hackers
therefore customers’ loyalty rate also gets affected (maruedr.com, 2018).
The turnover rate of employees
After launching the business on social media the employee turnover rate may also increase to technical
lack backs among the employees. Therefore Dong (2015), has mentioned that organizations need to
higher IT professionals so that employees can be trained in an effective manner.
Theoretical approach
Social media 24*7 model states that social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is
beneficial for the organizations because it helps to maintain instant communication between management
and the customers. In addition to that the model has also stated that through social media channels the
organizations can instantly witness the feedback of the customers which in turn helps them to mitigate the
organizational issues. Lastly, the model has also stated that Social media helps in brand proposition
because the commodities get promoted among the customers at right time which in turn helps the
organisation to earn high profit margin (Siamagka, 2015).
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Figure 3: Social media 24*7 model
(Source: Siamagka, 2015)
Impacts of social media in Business performance
Impact of social media in Business performance has been discussed below:
Instant communication with the customers
As per the comment of Siamagka (2015), through Facebook, the customers can effectively communicate
with the management of the organizations. For instance, Morrisons have launched feedback system so
that they can come to know the viewpoint of the customers related to the company.
Profitability of the organisation
Through social media channels the products get promoted among the right customers on right time which
in turn helps the organizations to expand the business activities in the global market so that they can
increase organization's profit margin.
Gap of the literature
In the present study the paid journals has not been not been consulted due to lack of accessibility. In
addition to that some articles had repeated information therefore it has been excluded. In addition to that
Siamagka (2015) has mentioned the advantages of social media on business. On the contrary the
individual has failed to mention the disadvantages. Therefore, the [present study has focused on both the
advantages and disadvantages of social media on business.
Conclusion
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Thus, in the present study, the present trend of social media has been discussed. In addition to that, the
advantages of social media have also been discussed here. On the contrary, the challenges of social have
also been discussed here along with its impact.
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Examine appropriate research methods and conduct primary and secondary research [P2]
Research Philosophy
Research philosophy refers to the source and nature of knowledge required for conducting research. The
Researcher gets knowledge of the phenomenon based on which data is gathered and applied in the
research process. The four main philosophies are pragmatism, positivism, interpretivism, and realism. In
order to perform the research of the impact of social media on the business performance of IKEA, the
researcher will apply positivism research philosophy. The particular philosophy relatively relies on
quantifiable observation, which will result in statistical analysis (research-methodology.net, 2019). It is
easy to collect reliable data in accordance with positivism philosophy. It is possible to conduct the
research effectively. The researcher will able to maintain the quality of the research due to the application
of this philosophy.
Research Approach
It is one of the essential sections of the research. Research approach helps in providing a proper shape to
the research content. The types of approaches applied by researchers are deductive and inductive. The
researcher will apply deductive approach for carrying out this research. The particular approach is
associated with a high degree of generalization. Data collection process used by this approach helps in
evaluating hypothesis related to existing models and theories. The source of literature is more in this type
of approach. When a researcher has less time to complete the entire research, a deductive approach is said
to be effective. The reasoning associated with the research topic begins with a theory or framework and
provides the insight of research questions (Schechter, 2013). Deductive approach is also helpful in terms
of enabling the research to complete in a shorter time.
Research Design
Research design involves the choice of techniques for data collection and analysis. It can be considered as
a general plan in order to link with research questions. The important components of the research design
are research methods and strategies. The research design is divided into two major parts such as
exploratory and conclusive. The researcher will use both exploratory and explanatory design for the
research. The exploratory design is effective for the primary research process, whereas explanatory is
suitable for secondary research. The flexibility of exploratory research will allow the researcher to make
necessary changes in the research process in case of requirement. The particular design potentially saves
the time and other important resources (Creswell and Creswell, 2017). It is effective in terms of
developing a foundation for more studies. The explanatory research design is also helpful in assessing the
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impact of variables included in the research topic. It emphasises on analysing the key research hypothesis.
It is regarded as a highly structured approach applied by many researchers. It is possible for the researcher
to increase understanding of the given research topic. The flexibility of sources of literature is high in
case of explanatory design, as it focuses on secondary research.
Data collection methods
Data collection method involves the process of collecting data through various sources such as primary
and secondary. In this research, the researcher will make use of primary as well as secondary methods for
gathering and analysing data. The primary method is appropriate in terms of collecting recent data that
will make the research project a quality one (Silverman, 2016). Primary data is capable of resolving
specific issues included in the research. Accuracy level of primary data is more. Quantitative and
qualitative data collection techniques will be considered for getting primary data. For the qualitative
process, the researcher will gather data through the interview process. In order to get quantitative data
related to the impact of social media, the researcher will use a questionnaire and survey. The secondary
method is easy to carry out, as it involves past data and records. The researcher will get secondary data by
going through books, journals, magazines, newspapers, and articles.
Sampling technique
Sampling technique involves the process of selection of sample size for the data collection process. The
researcher in this research will use both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. Probability
sampling involves the non-zero chance of samples participated in the research project. It has advantages
such as the absence of error, a greater level of accuracy and others (Etikan et al., 2016). The particular
technique will be used for the determination of sample size for primary data. In the case of non-
probability sampling, no samples have a chance to take part in the research process. The process does not
take time for determining the sample. Other advantages of non-probability sampling are time and cost-
effectiveness (research-methodology.net, 2019).
Sample Size
The sample size of quantitative and qualitative data collection process is 100 and 2, who will be the
employees and managers of IKEA respectively. For conducting secondary data analysis, the researcher
will use three themes.
Ethical consideration
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While conducting the primary research, the researcher will try to control the participation of participants.
Data will be gathered as per the terms of Data Protection Act, 2018. While performing secondary
research, the researcher will ensure that recent journals and articles have been taken. The data collected
through processes will not be used as for public use.
Research Limitation
The research may lack in previous studies, as some articles and journals are not accessible. There may be
the presence of bias in the responses of employees and managers. The objectives of the research may be
broad, which may require to be narrowed in further studies. The research may be lacking in detailed
studies of past researches, which may influence the quality of the entire data analysis.
Timescale
Tasks Starting Date Duration End Date
Determining the research topic 1/7/2018 2 1/9/2018
Literature Survey 1/9/2018 7 1/16/2018
Research Aims 1/16/2018 1 1/17/2018
Research Objectives 1/17/2018 2 1/19/2018
Research Questions 1/19/2018 1 1/20/2018
Literature Review 1/20/2018 10 1/30/2018
Research Methodology 1/30/2018 5 2/4/2018
Preparing Questionnaires 2/4/2018 3 2/7/2018
Conducting Interviews 2/7/2018 10 2/17/2018
Secondary research 2/17/2018 7 2/24/2018
Analysis of the data collected 2/24/2018 9 3/5/2018
Discussion 3/5/2018 5 3/10/2018
Table 1: Work breakdown structure
(Source: Created by the learner)
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