Internet-Mediated Dialog with Consumers: A Cross-Industry Multiple-Case Study of Polish Exporters

Abstract

Purpose: The paper explores the online dialog of firms and consumers through corporate websites and social networks. The objective is to investigate the state of this dialog, its mechanisms, and outcomes in four export-oriented manufacturing companies that represent a wide spectrum of industries, including FMCG and durable goods, low-priced and expensive products, purchased with high and low involvement. Methodology: A multiple-case study was used as the research method, with data sourced from in-depth interviews, observations, and published documents. Findings: The findings show all managers agree that dialog with consumers is useful, they allocate resources to support it, but its intensity is underwhelming. Dialog effects were reported as positive but only as anecdotal evidence without validation in reliable data, which underscores measuring difficulties. It seems that dialog is the easiest to implement in and brings the most substantial benefits for high-involvement products but, even there, the feedback from consumers is not effectively used for developing product innovations. The major obstacle that restricts rich dialog is not technology but the intensity, speed, and quality of personal contact between employees and consumers. Originality: The empirical material presented here offers original insights that foster a better understanding of online dialog between consumers and manufacturing companies. Our study contributes to the stream of research on value co-creation.

Social media use in international marketing: Impact on brand and firm performance

“…This pattern could be driven by limited control possibilities over partners' activities (in particular, SM personalities), who might be more interested in promoting themselves rather than the brand they were contracted to support. Such risks of cooperating with independent bloggers and influencers in SM were reported earlier in the literature, for instance, by Zaborek and Mazur [2018], who conducted a multiple case study on the use of Internet and SM by Polish exporting companies. 4) Sales support with SM is prone to delivering worse effects if the company exerts too much control over its foreign SM activities (beta = -0.092).…”

“…This might be related to a certain fickleness of these popular figures and their tendency for self-promotion even at the expense of the brands that they have committed to support. Zaborek and Mazur [2018] describe an illustrative case involving a Master Chef Competition participant to promote brands of a certain Polish food manufacturer. A series of YouTube videos sponsored by the firm, even though popular with Internet users, were promotionally underwhelming due to the lack of proper exposure of the brand names, which went largely unnoticed by the viewers.…”