Business Research Analysis: Social E-Commerce in Australia

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of social e-commerce within the Australian restaurant industry. It begins with an introduction to social electronic commerce and its evolution, including the rise of online shopping and the influence of user-generated content. The report then outlines the project objectives, scope, and literature review, which explores the definitions of social e-commerce, the application of social media in Australian restaurant marketing, and the effects of social media on brand value. The analysis covers the benefits, such as customer engagement and promotional opportunities, and the challenges, including the potential for misuse and the spread of misinformation. The report also examines the social issues associated with e-commerce and identifies gaps in existing literature, concluding with a summary of findings and a list of references.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Business Research Analysis
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Project Objective.............................................................................................................................4
Project Scope...................................................................................................................................5
Literature Review............................................................................................................................6
Description of the terms related to social Electronic Commerce.................................................6
The use of social media in food and Restaurant marketing in Australia.....................................7
Effects of Social media in improving the brand value of Australian Restaurants.....................10
Framework of social commerce research...................................................................................11
Social issues associated with the use of E-commerce................................................................12
Gaps in the Existing literature....................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
Reference.......................................................................................................................................15
Appendix........................................................................................................................................18

2
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Introduction
Social Electronic Commerce is a branch under the electronic commercial form of
business, where the shopping is done on the online media and websites. As the very name
suggests, the social Electronic Commerce involve the use of social media, which is used as a
form to communicate in the forms of the e-commerce transactions. The concept of social E-
Commerce was developed in 2005 by Yahoo where, online shopping was introduced. It was
done on the basis of the rating that is generated by the users. The main purpose of the
introduction of this concept is to raise the popularity of a brand and its product by sharing the
review and opinion provided by the users (Hays et al., 2013). As the use of social media is
believed to be one of the popular forms of spreading information, it has been used as a tool of
marketing by many business organizations as a tool of marketing and reaching out to the target
groups of customers.
One of the major advantages of use of social e-commerce is due to the fact that it can
help a company to engage with their customers according to the social behavior and buying
trends. From the point of view of the customer, this is advantage due to the fact that it can offer
various forms of discounts and bonus points due to the fact that they are taking part in raising the
popularity of the brand by involving themselves in online promotional activities. The customers
are also been affected due to the fact that they are getting a good platform for discussing about
the matters related to Feature and quality provided within a product. Hence, there by, they are
able to get detailed information about the quality of a product and also understand its value by
taking the opinion of other users.

3
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
According to Nakara et al., (2012), the shopping that is done through websites and e-
commerce platform are mainly done on the basis of recommendation that are provided by the
users of the social media. As the users provide good reviews and opinions about a particular
brand, their popularity in the online websites are improved significantly. Online social users also
get attracted to the particular brand as they get to know about the good reputation. It is important
to mention that the scaling of the social e-commerce is involved in all forms of operational
aspects. This is possible due to the fact that the evolution of social media platforms and
ecommerce have occurred simultaneously. The progress of most social media platforms and e-
commerce and also helped each other in promotional activities. Process of continuous
development is involved in this case due to the fact that all the new features of a product are
described in the social media platforms, which is meant for reaching out to the target group of
customers.
The rise of popularity of e-commerce and social media platforms, the restaurant business
are also taking its advantage to raise their popularity. The E-Commerce form of business is
believed to be one of the effective tools that help to connect restaurant with the target group of
customers. Due to the effective technological infrastructure in Australia, the use of the social
media is popular due to the fact that, it is easily possible for all people to connect with the digital
world. Almost all the popular restaurants in all over Australia use the tool of social media as an
important part of the promotional activities. This is one of the effective tools that are used by the
Australian restaurants to connect with all the food lovers in the society.
It is also important to mention in the contact that the use of social media in the form of
social e-commerce comes with some negative impact. This is mainly due to the fact that social
media platforms can be used by anyone to misuse and spread fake information about business

4
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
organization thereby compromising its reputation within the society. It is thereby essential for all
business organizations or restaurants to ensure that the misuse of the social media in the form of
e-commerce business is being prevented.
Project Objective
The purpose of this project is to discuss about the advantages and negative aspects of use
of social media platforms e commerce business of the Australian restaurant. With the growing
popularity of the social media platform, Australian restaurants are using the same as a tool to
improve upon their marketing campaigns. This current project will use the existing literature
related to the application of social media as a tool of improving the popularity of e-commerce
business. It will critically analyze all the aspects of the social media that are used in the modern
forms of business. With the help of the analysis that will be done in the literature review, it will
be possible to deal understand the overall impact of social media in the e-commerce forms of
business.
The analysis that is done in the current project is of more importance due to the fact that
it can help to suggest ways to improve the social media marketing strategies that are
implemented by the Australian restaurants. The misuse of the social media as a source of
spreading the false or fake information can also be prevented. The overall objectives of the
project can be noted down as follows:
 To explore the opportunities that Australian restaurants can take due to the implication of
the social electronic commerce
 To explore the disadvantages that Australian restaurants have to face due to the
implication of social electronic commerce

5
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
 To suggest ways that can be implemented by the Australian restaurants to improve upon
the existing social media strategies and also ensure that it is not mis-utilised.
Project Scope
The social media marketing is one of the popular forms of promotional campaigns that
are used by all the restaurants across Australia. With the rise in popularity of the digital
marketing, the use of the platforms of social media is also increasing due to the fact that the
companies are able to connect to large groups of people. This brings about of plenty of scope and
opportunities for the companies to able to expand in new domains. Many new restaurants are
also initiating their business exclusively through the help of the digital platforms. The online
forums in the social media are allowing the scope for the audience to discuss about the taste and
quality of food that are sold in each of the restaurants.There are also new forms of recipes and
new food that are being introduced by the restaurants.
In the given context, the scope of the current report is to explore the opportunities of the
application of the social media that in the ecommerce forms of business in the Australian
restaurant industry. The scope of the project also includes discussion about the advantages that
have been gained by the Australian restaurants with the application of the social media in the e-
commerce forms of business. The project scope also includes detailed discussions about the
matters related to the negative aspects and issues encountered due to the application of the social
media platforms in the restaurantsbusiness. For conducting the literature review, all the relevant
peer-reviewed journal articles will be chosen that were published on and after the year 2010.

6
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Literature Review
Description of the terms related to social Electronic Commerce
As mentioned byMinazzi (2015), the type of electronic Commerce that uses social media
to promote the process of online transactions and be defined as social e-commerce. All forms of
social media tools used for this purpose in order to improve the experience of online shopping
with the help of online forum and communities. This concept of social Electronic Commerce has
been introduced to encourage the users to do their shopping with the help of online platforms.
The concepts related to the social shopping are also enhanced with the help of the social e-
commerce.
On the other hand,Dong-Hun (2010), has mentioned that the use of social commerce is
quite different from that of social shopping. Social commerce mainly involved collaboration of
online vendor and the concept of social shopping is meant to describe the virtual online groups
that are formed by online Shoppers. Nevertheless, it can be said that with the rise of digital
technology in the 21st century, the online shopping E-Commerce business flourished in all parts
of the society. It is essential in this context for all forms of business to have special policy is
related to social media marketing, which encourages all forms of social shopping and social e-
commerce.
The social commerce is mainly defined as a small subsection of the e-commerce, where
business communication is mainly made with the help of social media platforms. The proper
definition of social Electronic Commerce consists of the properties of social media marketing,
which includes word of mouth and all types of buying advice that can be obtained by the user,
before they make decision of buying certain products. It is relevant to mention in a context that

7
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
all the ideas of social commerce involve the concept of community interaction and participation
that is believed to be the socio-economic impact on e-commerce business (Kim et al., 2915).
It is important for all business organization to clearly understand the proper meaning and
definition of social Electronic Commerce, along with its impact in order to understand its
relevance and importance in the context of the modern days.
As mentioned in the research paper ofHuang and Benyoucef (2013), with the rise in
popularity all forms of social media platforms including Face book and Twitter, it has provided
opportunities for new types of Business models on marketing strategies that can be implemented
by all scale of business management. The use of 2.0 of the social media technology is used in the
context of the social media. The social media platforms also provided opportunities for all
categories of entrepreneurs to easily communicate with the consumer market and profile details
about their business product or service.
The use of social media in food and Restaurant marketing in Australia
According to the survey done byLiang and Turban (2011), in their research work, it has
been found that 54% of younger generation population has the tendency of taking picture of their
food while eating in a restaurant. Most of them have the tendency to post those pictures along
with their reviews in various social media platforms. It is important to mention in this context
that different types of foods are an important part of the Australian culture. Popularity of social
media in the current days among the population of Australiais helping in the promotional
activities of all types of restaurants. Liang et al.,(2011), have mentioned the term about social
capital, which is one of the important components of the social media marketing or the social e-
commerce practice. The Social capital is a network that is formed between people who are active

8
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
users of the social media. Nice people are sharing pictures and reviews of the quality of food
they are eating in the restaurant, it is helping other people in the social media platforms to get
aware about the quality of food that is being obtained from the restaurants. With the help of the
positive reviews of a published in online social media platforms, it is possible to attract all food
lovers by developing a sense of interest in them about the delicious taste of a food. The social
media can also be used as a tool of word of mouth value, which is believed to be one of the
effective techniques to market the value of the restaurant.
It is also possible for the food critic and bloggers to provide their opinions about the
quality and the taste of any particular food in a restaurant, which can be used as a popular tool of
marketing. The social media can also be a platform, where popular personalities and celebrities
can express upon their opinion. This is one of the effective tools that can be used by restaurants
to improve upon their reputation and attract the public. The messages that are being sent by the
popular personalities through social media platforms can help to form a level of trust among the
food lovers about the quality and taste of food (Hughes &Beukes, 2012).
All the major restaurants in Australia have their dedicated page in every social media
platforms, which can be used by the restaurant visitors to provide their opinions and reviews
about the kind of quality or taste of food. It can also help the restaurant to improve upon the
quality of the service and bring about necessary changes from the opinions that are being
provided by the visitors.
From the findings ofLi et al., (2013), it is evident that at an interval of 28 seconds an
Australian restaurant are being tagged on Integra, which is also one of the popularly used social
media applications for the food lovers. This post on the social media platforms are able to drive

9
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
up to 87% of the sales of all types of restaurants in the social media. Another finding in the
research paper ofLu et al., (2010), suggest that Australian bars and restaurants, which are active
in the social media platforms have 20% more sales compared to those, who are not active in the
same. It is also believed about the fact that Australian restaurants, which are not using social
media platforms like Instagram, are currently declining 10% of their sales that could have been
increased with the strategies of social media marketing. The survey done among the Australian
food lovers have given the result that 71% of the consumers uses the information and feedbacks
from the social media platforms to decide upon the restaurant that they want to chose as the
destination of hangouts with friends and families (Afrasiabi Rad &Benyoucef, 2011).
It can be also said that in the current scenario less than half of the brands under the
hospitality industry in Australia are actively using the social media as a part of their business
promotional strategies. Hence, it is evident from the fact that the opportunities that are involved
with the use of social media and not yet been explored by most of the restaurants in Australia.
With the help of the use of the social media in the e-commerce forms of business, it is possible
for the restaurants to form a meaningful and healthy relationship with the consumers.
Kim et al.,(2013), have mentioned about the fact that the employees of a restaurant can
also act as a major influence of the social electronic commerce business. The information that is
shared by the employees of the restaurant plays a significant part in the development of the
business and thereby able to attract the guests.

10
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
Effects of Social media in improving the brand value of Australian Restaurants
According toYadav et al., (2013), the adaptation of social media in the restaurant
business of Australian industry is primarily aimed to improve the communication of the business
with the consumers. The marketing strategy getting pregnant with the help of social media
platforms helps to create a positive emotional impact on the minds of the customers. With the
help of the available resources, it is applicable to create positive implications that are achieved
through the help of most advanced forms of marketing strategies. According to the opinion that
are provided by the market investors and strategy makers, the investment in the social media
marketing by the restaurant can help to improve help to reduce the overall expenditure that are
spend by the restaurants in the forms of traditional marketing activities. This can be viewed as a
major decisions as the ways to improve upon the business communication strategy.
In many cases it has been seen that the competitive advantage that are gained by the
restaurant depends upon the policies that the implement in social media marketing. With the
popularity of the food based social media applications like Zomato, it is possible for all
Restaurants in Australia to provide details about the food in their menu and the pricing along
with other detail information for public domain. These types of mobile applications are specially
designed to provide Information and reviews about different types of restaurant as a form of
social media platform. The designer of application uses separate software to ensure that users can
get the restaurant of their choice according to the cuisines and the ratings that are provided by the
users. With further development, these food based applications can also help the users to get the
exact location of a restaurant. This can be possible with the integration of the GPS that are found
in all types of smart phones.

11
BUSINESS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
According toChiemeke and Evwiekpaefe (2011), with the use of the social media in the
business of restaurant, it can provide them with the opportunity of recovering of any reputational
damage that is caused due to poor food and service quality.
Framework of social commerce research
Application of social media marketing involves several levels of complexities and
innovation.He et al., (2013), have suggested about the research framework that can be implied in
practice to make use of effective social media marketing strategies. There are 6 elements that are
used as a part of the research framework of social media marketing policies.
The primary elements include social networking media, which is possible due to the fact
that large number of people in the Australian population is able to connect with each other with
the help of social media. This makes it possible for the restaurant owners of Australia take the
advantage of social networking and use its attribute in social commerce. The different types of
websites like food blogger and social media network are mainly used in this context.
It is important for the restaurants to ensure that the messages that are being sent through
the social media website do have some commercial intentions, which can help in the
development of a restaurant business. The commercial activities that are carried out with the help
of social media can help to improve upon the market popularity of a restaurant. It is also possible
to deal with the activities related to the promotional strategies that can help in the purpose of
dealing with the restaurant business. Customer relationship management is one of the major
commercial activities that can be achieved with the help of social media. It is also possible to
enhance the process of recruitment in various hospitality industries with the help of social media
platforms. The restaurant can communicate with the interested candidates, who are looking