Social media marketing adoption by business-to-business (B2B) organisations in Greece: a mixed method approach

Social media (SM) is an essential part of everyday life used by individuals, businesses,and governments worldwide. The overwhelming reliance on SM for communicationand information reflects SM’s power over people’s decisions. While B2B businessesare hesitant to embrace social media marketing (SMM), B2C businesses are profitingfrom it. However, the factors that influence the adoption of SMMby B2B organisationsremain underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to close this gap in knowledge byexamining the factors that influence SM adoption by Business-to-Businessorganisations in Greece and the perceived benefits and barriers they face. Built on theDiffusion of Innovation theory (DOI), Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE)framework and Hofstede’s Cultural model, the study developed an integratedconceptual framework containing eighteen (18) variables to examine the factors thatinfluence the SM adoption by the Greek B2B organisations. The study employed asequential exploratory mixed-method approach. This study relied on semi-structuredindividual interview data from eleven (11) employees of the case study company, aleading telecommunications company in Greece, for the qualitative phase and surveyresponses from participants of seventy-two (72) Greek B2B companies, for thequantitative phase. The qualitative findings informed the construction of a refinedconceptual framework quantitatively tested through online survey, which validated andgeneralised the qualitative findings. Descriptive statistics and Logistic Regression (LR)were used to analyse the quantitative data. The LR tested the hypotheses and examinedthe influence of the eighteen (18) identified factors of SM adoption by Greek B2Borganisations. Statistical analysis revealed that four (4) of the eighteen (18) hypotheseswere statistically significant in influencing adoption. The researcher concluded thattechnological, organisational, and cultural factors influence SM adoption decisions,while environmental factors were insignificant. The four (4) influential factors includeinteractivity, innovativeness, masculinity, and short-term orientation. Additionally,both phases of the study revealed benefits and barriers to SM adoption among B2Borganisations.Social media (SM) is an essential part of everyday life used by individuals, businesses,and governments worldwide. The overwhelming reliance on SM for communicationand information reflects SM’s power over people’s decisions. While B2B businessesare hesitant to embrace social media marketing (SMM), B2C businesses are profitingfrom it. However, the factors that influence the adoption of SMMby B2B organisationsremain underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to close this gap in knowledge byexamining the factors that influence SM adoption by Business-to-Businessorganisations in Greece and the perceived benefits and barriers they face. Built on theDiffusion of Innovation theory (DOI), Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE)framework and Hofstede’s Cultural model, the study developed an integratedconceptual framework containing eighteen (18) variables to examine the factors thatinfluence the SM adoption by the Greek B2B organisations. The study employed asequential exploratory mixed-method approach. This study relied on semi-structuredindividual interview data from eleven (11) employees of the case study company, aleading telecommunications company in Greece, for the qualitative phase and surveyresponses from participants of seventy-two (72) Greek B2B companies, for thequantitative phase. The qualitative findings informed the construction of a refinedconceptual framework quantitatively tested through online survey, which validated andgeneralised the qualitative findings. Descriptive statistics and Logistic Regression (LR)were used to analyse the quantitative data. The LR tested the hypotheses and examinedthe influence of the eighteen (18) identified factors of SM adoption by Greek B2Borganisations. Statistical analysis revealed that four (4) of the eighteen (18) hypotheseswere statistically significant in influencing adoption. The researcher concluded thattechnological, organisational, and cultural factors influence SM adoption decisions,while environmental factors were insignificant. The four (4) influential factors includeinteractivity, innovativeness, masculinity, and short-term orientation. Additionally,both phases of the study revealed benefits and barriers to SM adoption among B2Borganisations.