Authors : Ebtisam Labib, Ellisha Nasruddin and Noor Nasir Kadir Ali
Abstract: With the present borderless trend taking over the ways of the world, the trade and business sector too have begun adopting the applications made available at social media platforms to interact with online consumers. As such, many firms have devised fresh marketing strategies via social media to cater to the demands and needs of online consumers. Thus, researchers worldwide have asserted that Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) should embed the application of social media in their business approach to enhance their financial status as well as in strengthening the national economy. As a result, consumers have emerged as the primary factor for both large conglomerates and budding firms. Therefore, all business platforms should begin incorporating the social media platforms to gain higher customer equity. Moreover, additional two aspects which are trust and commitment have been proven to play essential roles in retaining good relationships with customers. As such this study presents a two-prong approach. First, it investigates the usage of Social Media Marketing Activities (SMMA) among small businesses in gaining higher customer equity from the perspective of consumers. Second, it proposes a new conceptual framework by taking into consideration the commitment-trust theory which is integrated with the framework developed by Kim and Ko, along with six constructs in order to verify the effects of social media upon customer equity among small businesses. In addition, this research essentially looks into the moderating role of "Co-Creation" based on the relationship between SMMA and customer trust.
Ebtisam Labib, Ellisha Nasruddin and Noor Nasir Kadir Ali, 2018. The Impacts of Social Media on SME’s Customer Equity: A Conceptual Model. International Business Management, 12: 32-45.