Sales Professionals’ Use of Social Media to Create and Deploy Social Capital in US and Indian Companies

2018 ◽  
pp. 143-158
Author(s):  
Rajiv Kashyap ◽  
Sudha Mani ◽  
Prabakar Kothandaraman ◽  
Raj Agnihotri
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Sales Professionals ◽  
Use Of Social Media

scholarly journals How Social Are Social Media? A Review of Online Social Behaviour and Connectedness

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracii Ryan ◽  
Kelly A. Allen ◽  
DeLeon L. Gray ◽  
Dennis M. McInerney
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Key Aspects

The use of social media is rapidly increasing, and one of the major discussions of the 21st century revolves around how the use of these applications will impact on the social relationships of users. To contribute to this discussion, we present a brief narrative review highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of social media use on three key aspects of social connectedness: social capital, sense of community, and loneliness. The results indicate that using social media can increase social capital, lead to the formation of friendships and communities, and reduce loneliness. However, some social media site users may experience weakening friendships, online ostracism, and heightened loneliness. Therefore, we argue that the use of social media has contradictory effects on social connectedness. Moreover, the direction of these outcomes is contingent upon who is using the site and how they are using it. Based on these arguments, possible directions for future research are discussed. It is recommended that discourse be continued relating to the association between online social behaviour and connectedness, as this will enable researchers to establish whether the positive outcomes of social media use outweigh the negative.

The Music That is Here to Stay

2014 ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
Atzimba Baltazar Macías
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Use Of Internet ◽  
Mexican Politics

The chapter aims at understanding a recent phenomenon in Mexican politics: the use of Internet and social media as a new and powerful resource for mobilization and social participation in the policy process. Based on a review of two recent movements in Mexico (#YoSoy132 and The Wirikuta Defense Front), the chapter argues that although the Internet is still restricted to the middle and upper classes, the use of social media and its impact transcends class boundaries, draws public attention, creates a valuable social capital for mobilization, and influences the decision-making process. The chapter does not intend to provide evidence to the theoretical discussion on why and how social media enhances political participation and mobilization; rather, it reflects the features shared by these two movements in order to draw some lines for further research. It finds that, if used appropriately, social media is actually an effective tool to facilitate mobilization and modify the public agenda.

The use of social media among business-to-business sales professionals in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith E. Niedermeier ◽  
Emily Wang ◽  
Xiaohan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sales Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sales Professionals ◽  
Sales Process ◽  
Successful Business ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the role of social media usage among business-to-business sales professionals in China. Specifically, the authors seek to define and explore the unique ways in which Chinese salespeople use social media, with a special emphasis on the role of guanxi. Guanxi is a complex cultural construct that revolves around the exchange of favors to build trust and connection for business purposes. Design/methodology/approach – Three in-depth interviews of sales managers from two industries along with survey data from 42 pharmaceutical sales representatives were collected to gain an understanding of the general usage and attitudes toward social media in the sales process in China. Findings – Results indicated that virtually all the salespeople in the sample were highly familiar with social media and integrated it into the sales process. Furthermore, all participants indicated that their companies were highly supportive of the use of social media with their customers. More importantly, salespeople in China view social media as a critical tool in building guanxi with their customers. Findings from this exploratory study are used to create a conceptual framework for understanding the important role of social media in building guanxi in China. Research limitations/implications – While the sample is limited to three managerial interviews and 42 survey responses, the data indicated a near universal acceptance and use of social media among Chinese salespeople. Most importantly, social media appears to be the modern gateway to the ancient and culturally unique construct of guanxi that is absolutely indispensable to successful business-to-business sales performance in China. Practical implications – The structural challenges within China make trust and emotional connection essential to any potential business relationship. Trust is at the core of guanxi. Any firm hoping to succeed in China must understand guanxi and the use of Chinese social media to help build it. This study adds to the knowledge and understanding of guanxi and begins to elucidate the uses of social media as a tool to build and maintain it. Social implications – Social media appears to be the modern gateway to the ancient and culturally unique construct of guanxi that is absolutely indispensable to successful business-to-business sales performance in China. This study deepens our understanding of not only guanxi but also how the modern phenomenon of social media is affecting it. Originality/value – This is one of very few studies to investigate the use of social media among salesforces in China. More importantly, the authors know of no other study linking social media with guanxi.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Social Media Usage Patterns and Social Capital: Empirical Evidence From the Agricultural Systems of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui-hua Xie ◽  
Lin-ping Wang ◽  
Asif Khan
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Bonding Social Capital ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Social Use ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Impact

This research offers a theoretical model to measure the impact of social media usage on social capital in the agricultural system of China. Furthermore, this research also investigates the relationship between agricultural policies related to entrepreneurship training and social media usage. A total of 589 questionnaires were distributed in the training courses of Fujian Agricultural Vocational Technology College, and, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Jianning, and Liancheng counties and cities in Fujian during winter and summer vacations to target new vocational farmers. The results show that social use, hedonic use, and cognitive use of social media significantly impacted both bridging and bonding social capital. Furthermore, the results of the study suggest that entrepreneurs who have participated in the training have significantly higher levels of social use and cognitive use than those who have not been trained. The findings of this paper have implications for the digital transformation by agricultural entrepreneurs in recognition of the role of sustainable education and learning in entrepreneurial activities and the utilization of social and cognitive functions of social media to acquire and accumulate social capital and provide support for sustainable agriculture and rural development. Furthermore, the concepts of sustainability-driven agriculture in the digital transformational framework were also studied and it was indicated that transformed agriculture can effectively deal with the present challenges.

Positive Aspects of Social Media

2018 ◽  
pp. 412-431
Author(s):  
Sally Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Despite the negative press social media platforms like Facebook receive in mainstream media, there is a large amount of research showing positive associations with their use. Although it is accepted that there are potential negative effects associated with using these platforms, this chapter focuses on the positive aspects and discusses the evidence, showing that the use of social media platforms can be positively associated with feelings of connectedness with others, to providing and receiving social support from others (e.g., social capital), and to psychological well-being. The chapter also examines the evidence suggesting that certain groups of people (e.g., socially anxious) may be more likely to reap these benefits. Finally, the chapter examines the evidence showing how the use of social media by young people specifically has been seen to have some relationship with positive outcomes.

scholarly journals Does Stakeholder Engagement Pay Off on Social Media? A Social Capital Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiai (Wayne) Xu ◽  
Gregory D. Saxton
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Empirical Measures ◽  
Community Foundations ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Social Capital Perspective

Nonprofits use social media to pursue a broad range of mission-related outcomes. Given the centrality of user connections and social networks on these sites, attaining these outcomes is contingent on first generating a stock of online social capital through investing in online relationships. Yet, little is known empirically about this process. To better understand the return on social media, this study develops empirical measures of four key dimensions of social media–based social capital centering on the nature of nonprofits’ network positions and stakeholder ties. The study then tests a series of hypotheses relating the increase in social capital to different types of stakeholder engagement tactics. Using Twitter data on 198 community foundations, the study finds that content with multiple communication cues and intersectoral stakeholder targeting predict higher levels of social capital; communicative and stakeholder diversity, thus, appear to play a key role in the successful organizational use of social media.

Digital Socialligators? Social Media-Induced Perceived Support During the Transition to the COVID-19 Lockdown

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110658
Author(s):  
Dan-Andrei Sitar-Taut ◽  
Daniel Mican ◽  
Lena Frömbling ◽  
Marko Sarstedt
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
University Life ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Psychological Sense

The sudden COVID-19-induced transition from a physical university life to a virtual one was a painful one for many students. Social distancing measures mean more than a simple change from face-to-face to online education. This study investigates how different social aspects, such as the students’ psychological sense of community, social capital, and use of social media, facilitated the perceived social support during the transition to the COVID-19 lockdown. Our results not only underline social media’s role, but also indicate that the perceived social support, as well as the bonding and bridging social capital, were particularly relevant during the transition process. Our findings are aimed at organizational management by recommending actionable ways in which they could improve social support by organizing computer-supported social networks, social support predictors, and specialized interventions for students with less perceived social support. As such, the study provides unique insights into the COVID-19-induced lockdown situation among students, while offering a transition model that also generalizes to other settings.

The Mexican Spring

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-67
Author(s):  
Atzimba Baltazar Macias
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Use Of Internet ◽  
Mexican Politics

The chapter aims at understanding a recent phenomenon in Mexican politics: the use of internet and social media as a new and powerful resource for mobilization and social participation in the policy process. Based on a review of two relatively recent movements in Mexico (#YoSoy132 and The Wirikuta Defense Front), the chapter argues that although the internet is still restricted to the middle and upper classes, the use of social media and its impact transcends class boundaries, draws public attention, creates a valuable social capital for mobilization, and influences the decision-making process. The chapter does not intend to provide evidence to the theoretical discussion on why and how social media enhances political participation and mobilization; rather, it reflects on the features shared by these two movements in order to draw some lines for further research. It finds that, if used appropriately, social media is actually an effective tool to facilitate mobilization and modify the public agenda.

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