The adoption of social media tools for enhancing small and medium enterprises' performance: A synthesis of innovation of diffusion and technology-organisation-environment frameworks

Abstract

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.

Small retail businesses' social media adoption amid a crisis

“…He et al, 2017;Kwon et al, 2021;Ullah et al, 2023) and environmental factors, such as government policies and competitor and customer pressure (e.g. Mataruka and Muzurura, 2023;Shaltoni, 2017;Ullah et al, 2023), have been investigated as potential predictors of small businesses' social media adoption or effectiveness. In addition, diverse theories explaining innovation adoption processes, such as technology-organization-environment framework (Wang et al, 2016), resource-based view theory (Peteraf, 1993), technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989), unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al, 2003), as well as DIT (Rogers, 2003), have been frequently applied to investigate small businesses' social media adoption.…”

“…, 2023) and environmental factors, such as government policies and competitor and customer pressure (e.g. Mataruka and Muzurura, 2023; Shaltoni, 2017; Ullah et al. , 2023), have been investigated as potential predictors of small businesses’ social media adoption or effectiveness.…”