This study investigates using social media to improve business performance in the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. Data for this study were collected using a cross-sectional research methodology. A total of 938 participants who were business owners in the Harare region completed an online questionnaire. The utilisation of SmartPLS 4.0 software facilitated the analysis of data and the application of the partial least squares approach to identify interrelationships among measurement components. This study examines the technological constructs of relative benefit, presence qualities, visibility, linkages and interactivity. Senior management support is essential for determining a company's position on social media, particularly in smaller corporate units where roles are interdependent. Based on the social media adoption, antecedents TF and OF implied that their direct impact on business performance was insignificant. Our empirical study reveals that external pressure and environmental uncertainty significantly impact SMEs' adoption of social media in Harare's multi-industrial urban centre district in Zimbabwe. Overall, the study findings are that social media adoption does not affect SMEs' business performance in Zimbabwe. A well-established information technology communication infrastructure that characterises this district might be the critical perceptual driver to adopting social media due to its ease of availability, not actual use. This study helped validate a nomological framework using latent constructs. It suggests longitudinal research to investigate in future.

This study analysed the nexus among ICT support for core competencies, competitive advantage and firm performance using data obtained from managers of firms in Harare, Zimbabwe. The qualitative phenomenological approach focused on the manufacturing and service sub-sectors that informed the analysis. The study used purposive sampling to select a sample of 10 participants, five business managers and five ICT experts. In-depth interviews with chosen ICT experts from business organisations in Harare, Zimbabwe, were conducted to gather qualitative data. The study's findings were from using within-case and cross-case qualitative data analysis. Key results from the study indicate that ICT support for management talent is perceived to impact business performance and competitive advantage positively. ICT support for core competencies gives businesses a competitive advantage that positively impacts operational performance. When ICT investments combine with ICT management skills, a company's value maximises. For ICT-enabled core competencies to influence firm performance, firms need complementary managerial and strategic capabilities. This study is distinctive because it addresses the dynamic organisational capabilities and resource-based perspective as the base theories. The methodology goes against the innovation adoption theories of comparable earlier studies on ICT acceptability. Thus, this study contributes to the growing body of ICT literature by demonstrating that ICT-enabled core competencies are insufficient to establish and maintain a competitive advantage and singularly influence firm performance. It made it even more essential for a firm to consider how to meet better customer needs and capture value by having a well-thought-out ICT-embedded business model, business strategy, and innovation alignment

This study examines using social media to enhance business performance within the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. The research integrates the innovation of diffusion and technology-organization-environment frameworks to explore this phenomenon. A cross-sectional research design facilitated data acquisition via an online questionnaire administered to 938 participants operating business entities within the Harare region. SmartPLS 4.0 software enabled the analysis of data and the application of the partial least squares approach to identify the interrelationships among the measurement components. The data analysis and testing of the proposed hypotheses used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that integrating theoretical frameworks provided the determinants that insightfully examined the acceptance and utilisation of social media. The technological construct items of relative advantage, presence attributes and visibility, and interconnections and interactivity are essential factors to consider. Organizational features of top management support and entrepreneurial orientation in contexts prioritising innovativeness positively influenced social media adoption. Thus, senior managerial support as an integral component has been deemed crucial in determining a company's attitude towards adopting social media, mainly where the inseparable roles are relatively high in smaller business entities. This managerial support is especially true when leveraging social media to enhance marketing capabilities, responsiveness and improve decision-making processes. The trait of innovativeness, associated with the entrepreneurial orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has been primarily examined within the diffusion of innovation theory. The organisational agility and renewal process is a critical factor influencing how SMEs adopt and implement sustainability innovations. Environmental measures refer to external factors that exert pressure and create uncertainty, particularly concerning the level of competition. The findings of our empirical study indicate that external pressure and environmental uncertainty are key antecedent factors that significantly influence the adoption of social media by SMEs operating in the multi-industrial urban centre district of Harare, with a relatively functioning information technologies communication infrastructure in Zimbabwe.

This study examines using social media to enhance business performance within the Harare Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe. The research integrates the innovation of diffusion and technology-organization-environment frameworks to explore this phenomenon. A cross-sectional research design facilitated data acquisition via an online questionnaire administered to 938 participants operating business entities within the Harare region. SmartPLS 4.0 software enabled the analysis of data and the application of the partial least squares approach to identify the interrelationships among the measurement components. The data analysis and testing of the proposed hypotheses used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The findings indicate that integrating theoretical frameworks provided the determinants that insightfully examined the acceptance and utilisation of social media. The technological construct items of relative advantage, presence attributes and visibility, and interconnections and interactivity are essential factors to consider. Organizational features of top management support and entrepreneurial orientation in contexts prioritising innovativeness positively influenced social media adoption. Thus, senior managerial support as an integral component has been deemed crucial in determining a company's attitude towards adopting social media, mainly where the inseparable roles are relatively high in smaller business entities. This managerial support is especially true when leveraging social media to enhance marketing capabilities, responsiveness and improve decision-making processes. The trait of innovativeness, associated with the entrepreneurial orientation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has been primarily examined within the diffusion of innovation theory. The organisational agility and renewal process is a critical factor influencing how SMEs adopt and implement sustainability innovations. Environmental measures refer to external factors that exert pressure and create uncertainty, particularly concerning the level of competition. The findings of our empirical study indicate that external pressure and environmental uncertainty are key antecedent factors that significantly influence the adoption of social media by SMEs operating in the multi-industrial urban centre district of Harare, with a relatively functioning information technologies communication infrastructure in Zimbabwe.