Social Media Use and Business Performance in SMEs: The Mediating Roles of Relational Social Commerce Capability and Competitive Advantage

Marjeta Marolt (), Hans-Dieter Zimmermann and Andreja Pucihar
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Marjeta Marolt: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia
Hans-Dieter Zimmermann: School of Management, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Andreja Pucihar: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Social media (SM) enables micro, small, and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve brand awareness and to engage their audience, which can lead to referrals, repeat business, and increased sales. However, the existing literature offers limited insights into how the ability to leverage SM for commercial activities that are beyond transactions (relational social commerce capability) can affect performance outcomes for SMEs. Drawing on the existing literature and insights from in-depth interviews with six SME managers/owners, we developed a conceptual research model and examined it empirically by using a dataset collected from Slovenian SMEs. This study identifies relational social commerce capability and competitive advantage as important mediators when exploring the impact of SM use on business performance. More specifically, the findings reveal the mediating role of relational social commerce capability between SM use and competitive advantage, while SM use was not found to have a direct impact on competitive advantage. Furthermore, the findings illustrate business performance as a result of the competitive advantage derived from relational s-commerce capability.

Keywords: social media use; relational s-commerce capability; competitive advantage; business performance; micro; small; medium sized enterprises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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