The impact of social media on resource mobilisation in entrepreneurial firms

Value impact of social media: a perspective from the independent brewery sector

“…Use of in-depth interviews with multiple independent breweries enables the researcher to develop ideas and understanding based on the perspectives of different respondents (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). Drummond et al (2018) use in-depth interviews in their study of social media impact on entrepreneurial firms' relationships and networks. Such an approach enabled them to gather "perspectives, opinions and experiences on social media use" (p 73), which, coupled with empirical data from the firm's social media platforms, is developed into a conceptualisation of activity structures in B2B networks.…”

“…For one thing, various studies already exist in the micro/craft brewing area (e.g. Drummond et al, 2018;McGrath & O'Toole, 2017), and also within research associated with the Beeronomics Society, so the sector itself does not give uniqueness in terms of study. Indeed, the whole issue of gap-spotting in developing a contribution to knowledge is contentious, despite empirical evidence that it is commonplace in extant research (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2012;Nicholson et al, 2018).…”

“…Various studies have considered this area, e.g. the use of social media as a digital marketing communications tool (Järvinen, 2012;Karjaluoto & Mustonen, 2014); the B2B networking opportunities afforded by social media (Quinton & Wilson, 2015); the use of social media in innovation and entrepreneurship (Drummond et al, 2018;Jusilla et al, 2011) and the use of social media by SMES to reach new customers (Michaelidou et al, 2011). The emphasis in this thesis however, is on a particular sector -independent breweries -and using social media across a multi-stakeholder environment, including B2C and B2B, as well as external and internal influencers.…”

“…Whilst most studies of social media marketing are based around a business-to-consumer (B2C) context (Jusilla et al, 2011; Lacoste, 2015), a number of research articles consider the subject in a business-to-business context. These include exploring the use of social media as a digital marketing communications tool (Järvinen, 2012;Karjaluoto & Mustonen, 2014); the B2B networking opportunities afforded by social media (Quinton & Wilson, 2015); and the use of social media in innovation and entrepreneurship (Drummond et al, 2018;Jusilla et al, 2011). Of relevance to this thesis, some of these studies specifically explore the use of social media by SMEs.…”

“…Contemporary studies of social media in smaller organisations tend to focus B2B contexts (Drummond et al, 2018;Michaelidou et al, 2011), where the predominant subjects are professional networking sites like Linked in and Viadeo (Lacoste, 2015). This leaves an opportunity for the research in this thesis to take a more holistic approach, incorporating not just B2B, but B2C, as well as a wider range of social (as opposed to professional ) social media sites.…”