The Social Media Use of the 20 Largest Listed Austrian Companies – Effective Networking Tool or Mere Showcase Function?

Peter Schneckenleitner ()
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Peter Schneckenleitner: University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tyrol

Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, 2021, vol. 1, issue 1, 31-39

Abstract: According to Grunig (2009), social media offer companies the potential to communicate with their various stakeholders in a two-way and interactive, symmetrical and dialogical manner. However, there is the possibility that communicators use new media in the same way as old media and that the potential of interactivity is not exploited through a one-sided use of the channels. Zerfaß & Piwinger (2014) also express this fear and emphasize that corporate social media channels often simply fulfill a showcase function. So how does this play out in reality? This study uses a four-stage model to examine the intensity of interactions on individual posts. A distinction is made between low interaction (reactions/likes/shares), increased interaction (comments), dialog (users communicate with each other or the company communicates with users) and digital network structure (the company enters into a communicative exchange with users and the users communicate with each other). The object of the study was 1,993 posts of the 20 largest listed Austrian companies (ATX companies) on the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. The study period was three months. On all four social media platforms, all forms of interaction could be identified. However, the main functions of social media channels, enabling dialogue and networking, could only be observed to a small extent.

Keywords: Social media; interaction; network structure; dialogue; ATX company. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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