Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Can Facebook be an effective mechanism for generating growth and value in small businesses?

Can Facebook be an effective mechanism for generating growth and value in small businesses? Purpose – Online social networks (OSNs) offer organisations direct access to a plethora of information about their networks of connections and provide the means by which to create two‐way, business‐to‐consumer (B2C), information channels. Instead of traditional impersonal and one‐direction advertising, organisations can establish a personal and two‐way communication medium, by accepting members and having friends on these platforms. This paper aims to discuss the phenomenon of OSNs, and in particular Facebook, and examine whether they can be employed by small businesses as a resource for growth and adding value. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is presented that examines how a small business in New Zealand, specialising in the distribution of products that help babies and toddlers sleep through the night, has adopted Facebook as a tool for engaging with its largely stay‐at‐home customer base. This examination of The Sleep Store is an impartial study based on findings collected over a period of several months, via a series of interviews supplemented by telephone conversations and e‐mail exchanges, with representatives from the case organisation. Findings – The Sleep Store's adoption of Facebook was found to offer the business both direct and indirect value. That is direct value, based on the value of transactions, quantified by the increase in turnover experienced through connecting with new customers, and organisational growth; and the indirect value of word‐of‐mouth, positive recommendations and the relative influence that Facebook community members exert on each other, which enable valuable new insights to be made into their business ecosystem. Research limitations/implications – While the adoption of Facebook in this instance has been found to be an undoubted success it does not, however, suggest that such impressive results would necessarily be expected by all small businesses adopting Facebook in this way. The nature of this business, and their customer base, are an important contributing factor to the overall success of this project. Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight potential opportunities for small businesses adopting Facebook as an additional sales channel or tool for leveraging new information about their market. Originality/value – This is original academic research, designed to make a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature, on how small businesses are benefiting from the availability of OSNs. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Systems and Information Technology Emerald Publishing

Can Facebook be an effective mechanism for generating growth and value in small businesses?

John L. Hopkins
Journal of Systems and Information Technology , Volume 14 (2): 11 – Apr 27, 2012
Download PDF
11 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/can-facebook-be-an-effective-mechanism-for-generating-growth-and-value-P20Mw0k0Ns
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1328-7265
DOI
10.1108/13287261211232153
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – Online social networks (OSNs) offer organisations direct access to a plethora of information about their networks of connections and provide the means by which to create two‐way, business‐to‐consumer (B2C), information channels. Instead of traditional impersonal and one‐direction advertising, organisations can establish a personal and two‐way communication medium, by accepting members and having friends on these platforms. This paper aims to discuss the phenomenon of OSNs, and in particular Facebook, and examine whether they can be employed by small businesses as a resource for growth and adding value. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is presented that examines how a small business in New Zealand, specialising in the distribution of products that help babies and toddlers sleep through the night, has adopted Facebook as a tool for engaging with its largely stay‐at‐home customer base. This examination of The Sleep Store is an impartial study based on findings collected over a period of several months, via a series of interviews supplemented by telephone conversations and e‐mail exchanges, with representatives from the case organisation. Findings – The Sleep Store's adoption of Facebook was found to offer the business both direct and indirect value. That is direct value, based on the value of transactions, quantified by the increase in turnover experienced through connecting with new customers, and organisational growth; and the indirect value of word‐of‐mouth, positive recommendations and the relative influence that Facebook community members exert on each other, which enable valuable new insights to be made into their business ecosystem. Research limitations/implications – While the adoption of Facebook in this instance has been found to be an undoubted success it does not, however, suggest that such impressive results would necessarily be expected by all small businesses adopting Facebook in this way. The nature of this business, and their customer base, are an important contributing factor to the overall success of this project. Practical implications – The findings of this study highlight potential opportunities for small businesses adopting Facebook as an additional sales channel or tool for leveraging new information about their market. Originality/value – This is original academic research, designed to make a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature, on how small businesses are benefiting from the availability of OSNs.

Journal

Journal of Systems and Information Technology – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 27, 2012

Keywords: Online social network; Social networking site; Facebook; Social media; Small business; Small to medium‐sized enterprises; New Zealand

References

  • How to search a social network
    Adamic, L.; Adar, E.
  • Road‐mapping the societal transformation potential of social media
    Ahlqvist, T.; Bäck, A.; Heinonen, S.; Halonen, M.
  • Persona: an online social network with user‐defined privacy
    Baden, R.; Bender, A.; Spring, N.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Starin, D.
  • Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage
    Barney, J.B.
  • Qualitative case study methodology: study design and implementation for novice researchers
    Baxter, P.; Jack, S.
  • The 5 basic rules of calculating the value of a Facebook ‘fan’
    Blanchard, O.
  • On Being a Mother: Study of Women with Pre‐school Children
    Boulton, M.
  • Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship
    Boyd, D.; Ellison, N.
  • Web marketing – chart a winning course with social media
    Britt, P.
  • Living in Cyworld: contextualising cy‐ties in South Korea
    Choi, J.
  • Social capital and social support on the web: the case of an internet mother site
    Drentea, P.; Moren‐Cross, J.
  • The benefits of Facebook ‘friends’: exploring the relationship between college students' use of online social networks and social capital
    Ellison, N.; Steinfield, C.; Lampe, C.
  • Rhythms of social interaction: messaging within a massive online network
    Golder, S.A.; Wilkinson, D.M.; Hubennan, B.A.
  • Information revelation and privacy in online social networks
    Gross, R.; Acquiti, A.
  • Exploring the Facebook experience: a new approach to usability
    Hart, J.; Ridley, C.; Taher, F.; Sas, C.; Dix, A.
  • Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing?
    Hoffman, D.L.; Fodor, M.
  • Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope
    Huberman, B.A.; Romero, D.M.; Wu, F.
  • The Happiest Baby: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer
    Karp, H.
  • Structure and evolution of online social networks
    Kumar, R.; Novak, J.; Tomkins, A.
  • Social networking websites and teens: an overview
    Lenhart, A.; Madden, M.
  • Social capital: a guide to its measurement
    Lochner, K.; Kawachi, I.; Kennedy, B.
  • Online social networks in economics
    Mayer, A.
  • Measurement and analysis of online social networks
    Mislove, A.; Marcon, M.; Gummadi, K.; Druschel, P.; Bhattacharjee, B.
  • New Media, Old Media: How Blogs and Social Media Agendas Relate and Differ from the Traditional Press
    Pew
  • Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
    Putnam, R.D.
  • Understanding online social network usage from a network perspective
    Schneider, F.; Feldmann, A.; Krishnamurthy, B.; Willinger, W.
  • The relationship between unwillingness to communicate and students' Facebook use
    Sheldon, P.
  • Does social media have a place in workplace learning?
    Shepherd, C.
  • The perceived benefits of six‐degree‐separation social networks
    Shu, W.; Chuang, Y.‐H.
  • A framework for analyzing and understanding online communities
    Sieckenius de Souza, C.; Preece, J.
  • Is Facebook really worth $50 billion?
    Simonds, D.
  • Social networking as a marketing tool: the case of a small Australian company
    Syed‐Ahmed, S.F.; Murphy, J.
  • Social networking is not a business
    Urstadt, B.
  • On the evolution of user interaction in Facebook
    Viswanath, B.; Mislove, A.; Cha, M.; Gummadi, K.P.
  • The true marketing power of Facebook: sociology perspective
    Wu, M.