Social Media Platforms and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review

Small businesses use social media (SM) platforms as efficient tools for enhancing their consumer interactions. While there has been extensive research on the use of SM by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), an in-depth bibliometric analysis of the subject was missing. This bibliometric study aimed to explore the trends and patterns in the research on SM usage by MSMEs. A total of 994 articles published between 2004 and 2024 were examined. Performance analysis identified S. Y. Lee and Y. Sun as the most prolific authors, while Public Relations Review and Industrial Marketing Management emerged as the leading journals. The United States, United Kingdom and China contributed the highest number of publications, with Griffith University (Australia) ranking as the top institution in terms of research output. Scientific mapping techniques were used to delineate key themes, co-authorship networks, co-citations and the top 15 most influential references in this field. The analysis identified seven key research themes, including Twitter, innovation culture, inside sales performance, affordances, functional brand image, socialization-oriented SM and literature review. Additionally, results of prominent research articles in this domain over the last 10 years were synthesized to outline future research agendas. The value of this study lies in collating disparate data to help practitioners and policymakers understand how SM platforms improved the operational effectiveness of MSMEs. The results and implications of this study provided useful insights for both academicians and practitioners.