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This study examines the adoption of social media platforms for educational purposes within Saudi Arabian higher education institutions, utilizing an expanded e-Learning Acceptance Model (e-LAM). It investigates the influence of factors such as effectiveness, effort, communication functionality, self-awareness, social influence, and facilitating conditions on the intention to use social media. Additionally, the study explores how the intention to use social media affects the actual usage of these platforms. The research employs a quantitative methodology, utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data collected through online surveys. The sample comprises 283 university students from various academic disciplines, ensuring a diverse representation of the student population in Saudi Arabia. The findings reveal that effectiveness, effort, and self-awareness significantly enhance students’ intentions to use social media for educational purposes. Conversely, the study finds that communication functionality, social influence, and facilitating conditions do not significantly impact students’ intentions, while Intention to use social media significantly impacts actual usage. The implications of this study are multifaceted, offering valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and technology developers. For educators, understanding the key factors that drive students’ intentions to use social media for learning can inform the design and implementation of more effective e-learning strategies. Policymakers can leverage these findings to develop supportive frameworks that encourage the integration of social media into educational curricula. Technology developers can also use this knowledge to enhance the functionality of social media platforms, making them more conducive to educational use. This study contributes to the existing literature by applying an expanded e-Learning Acceptance Model (e-LAM) to the context of Saudi Arabian higher education. It provides novel insights into the specific factors that influence students’ intentions and actual usage of social media for educational purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's digital era, the adoption of social media by creative micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is increasingly essential for marketing strategies and customer engagement. This research aims to investigate social media adoption among creative MSMEs, identify existing trends, and analyze factors influencing platform use. Through a bibliometric analysis approach, the study examines relevant literature to gain insights into the dynamics of social media adoption in the context of creative MSMEs. The findings reveal a significant rise in publications on MSMEs and social media, particularly since 2008, indicating a growing recognition of social media's role in marketing strategies. Key factors influencing adoption include MSME owners' knowledge and skills, managerial support, and resource availability. Although challenges like technical skill limitations and costs remain, social media's potential to enhance customer engagement and loyalty highlights the need for greater attention. This study concludes by underscoring the importance of additional support, such as training and resources for MSMEs, and suggests further research to explore social media adoption longitudinally and examine the impact of cultural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology and the internet have altered business activities by enabling organizations to reach customers, develop markets, enhance profitability, and raise brand awareness. With 167 million social media users, Indonesia’s internet economy provides numerous entrepreneurial possibilities; however, just 0.43% of entrepreneurs are technology-based. This demonstrates the need for digital entrepreneurship education and effective social media use, particularly among tech-savvy college students. The present study aims to examine the effects of social media utilization, digital entrepreneurship education, and attitude toward digital business on the technology-based entrepreneurial behavior of Indonesian university students, using the frameworks of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology and the theory of planned behavior. This study employs quantitative research using a non-probability sampling method with a judgmental technique, focusing on 391 university students engaged in entrepreneurial activities using social media. The study employed SmartPLS to analyze the research data. The results indicate that social influence, work and performance expectations, and attitude toward digital entrepreneurship positively influence the use of social media for technology-based entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, the paper unveiled that the provision of digital entrepreneurship education and the utilization of social media for commercial purposes had a beneficial influence on behavior that is predisposed toward technology. The present study demonstrates that the adoption of social media functions as a mediator in the association between digital entrepreneurship education and the adoption of social media, therefore exerting an impact on technology-based entrepreneurial behavior. AcknowledgmentsThe research team would like to thank the Ministry of Education, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia for providing funding for the research program based on Decree number 0667/E5/AL.04/2024 with university internal decree number: 0038-RD-LPPM-UMN/P-HD/VI/2024, and Universitas Multimedia Nusantara for supporting the implementation of this investigation.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use social media to communicate effectively with stakeholders. However, little is known about the influence wielded by social media adoption on sustainable performance during COVID-19. Based on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, our study developed an integrated model to explore the factors affecting social media adoption and its effect on sustainable performance in SMEs in the Saudi Arabian context. The quantitative method of a survey was used to collect data from SMEs owner-managers and CEOs. Partial least square was used to analyze data collected from 609 respondents. The findings revealed that environmental factors (i.e., the intensity of the competition, competitive pressure, and the bandwagon effect), technological factors (i.e., relative advantages and compatibility), and organizational factors have been the key drivers of social media adoption in SMEs during COVID-19. It also indicated that social media adoption is a key predictor of social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This study provides SMEs with meaningful implications about ways of fostering sustainable performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explored the potential effects of country image and brand trust on Americans' adoption and use of TikTok following the 2020 proposed TikTok ban. Although brand trust affected both the adoption and continuous use of TikTok among U.S. users, the perception of the Chinese government played a crucial role in their initial adoption while the perception of Chinese companies affected their continuous use of the app following the attempted ban. The study supported a multidimensional construct of country image and argued that the political aspects of country image involving Chinese products are becoming predominant with the intensifying rivalry between U.S. and China. The results suggested that Trump administration's TikTok ban in 2020 may have a considerable impact on the issue and attribute salience of TikTok, resulting in different patterns of TikTok adoption and usage among Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies can lead to the provision of innovative opportunities for academic entrepreneurship. However, investigations on the rationale for the adoption of digital technologies for academic entrepreneurship, particularly in emerging economies, remain limited. As a result, the determinants of digital technology adoption for academic entrepreneurship are not fully understood. Drawing on technology adoption and entrepreneurship literature, we propose a research model to investigate the adoption of social media – a type of digital technology - for entrepreneurial activities among students in academic settings. Based on survey data collected from 312 participants, and a partial least square structural equation modeling technique for analysis, this study shows that computer self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment significantly influence perceived ease of use. In addition, perceived job relevance and perceived ease of use significantly influence perceived usefulness. Furthermore, perceived ease of use and students' perceived entrepreneurial feasibility significantly affect behavioral intention. Moreover, the study shows that behavioral intention significantly affects actual usage. Through these findings, our study advances knowledge on the antecedents of social media adoption for entrepreneurship in academic settings in emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics core to the nonprofit sector’s identity – community building and authenticity – are what drive user engagement on microvlogging platforms like TikTok. Yet, nonprofits are often hesitant to join emerging social media platforms, especially platforms that necessitate a new content style. This hesitancy is due to uncertainties on the platform and insufficient resources to go “all-in.” We interviewed social media coordinators and applied qualitative summative content analysis to illuminate TikTok’s early adopters’ strategies for moving beyond metrics like follower counts and attention to leveraging their social media-based social capital toward mission-oriented goals. The findings indicate that as social media strategies grow more sophisticated, nonprofits build the capacity to work toward mission fulfillment more narrowly. However, the fast-paced nature of the platform defies nonprofit’ commonly reserved approach to social media, such as long-term planning, strong leadership oversight, and brand establishment. Well-meaning CEOs should focus on investing financial resources into content creation rather than controlling content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Entrepreneurship is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper aims to measure the intention to use digital marketing strategies to enhance the performance of tourism business as well as the extent of digital renovation applications in tourism for sustainable business in a new normal era. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is an insight from the existing relevant literature on the tourism business from time immemorial. The conceptual framework of this study is designed based on previous studies of digital marketing practices for tourism businesses. Furthermore, data were collected from 270 respondents, of which the valid response rate is 72.97%. Partial least square (PLS)-structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to validate the conceptual framework and hypotheses testing. Findings: Among the nine hypotheses path, seven were supported. This study result shows that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social media marketing and tourism business performance are critical factors for adopting digital marketing in tourism. Thus, tourism service providers' intention has a positive impact to meet the expectation of tourists and adoption of digital marketing. Research limitations/implications: The study's results will assist tourism researchers and service providers in understanding an authentic relationship between digital practices of tourism business and tourist satisfaction. In addition, the legacy of tourism business through digital marketing empowers the owner and community. Originality/value: The study is the first to explore the relationship between tourism business performance and digital marketing during the new normal era for the empowerment of local community and expanded business in tourism sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even as salespeople increasingly adopt social media, sales research and practice struggle to understand how their application can help salespeople acquire customers. This article therefore explores empirically under which conditions social media adoption enhances or impedes the customer acquisition performance of salespeople. According to motivation literature, the outcomes of salespeople's social media adoption should depend fundamentally on the interplay of the level and direction of social media adoption. Based on a multi-level data set containing objective performance data and surveys of salespeople, the results of this study reveal that salespeople's social media adoption increases customer acquisition performance if salespeople communicate in a customized way (indicated by customer orientation). Strikingly, the study also unveils that this effect is negative if salespeople communicate in a standardized way (indicated by, for example, performance orientation). These findings in turn offer several managerial and theoretical implications. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08853134.2022.2033624. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advancements, computerization, and globalization have made businesses competitive across all industries. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) continue to encounter difficulties with resource scarcity and technology adoption, although accounting for over 80% of employment and contributing to 61.97% of the GDP (gross domestic product). The Sunan Drajat Lamongan Religious Tourism Area is a home to hundreds of MSMEs, ranging in size from apparel and souvenir shops to restaurants. The number of visitors rises dramatically throughout the holiday season before becoming quiet, as is common with tourism in general. Entrepreneurship is a key factor in economic growth and serves as the primary driving force for innovative and long-term growth. By leveraging social media to enhance a company's competitive advantage throughout the entrepreneurship and operation phases, entrepreneurs who possess an entrepreneurial mindset can aid their organizations in efficiently adapting their organizational framework and processes, thereby mitigating environmental conflicts and tensions within the intricate framework of a dynamic business environment. By using social media, MSMEs may reach their target audience with content and information without having to personally meet them. Social media also offers information in the form of customer reviews of goods, services, and even new ideas for sustainable MSMEs. This study aimed to determine how MSMEs' use of social media and their ability for innovation can impact their success in Sunan Drajat Lamongan's religious tourism industry. The data were obtained from 132 small and medium-sized enterprises using questionnaires. Path Least Square (PLS) and descriptive analysis were the methods utilized to analyze the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although extensively discussed in previous studies, social media adoption has yet to consistently translate into improved business performance, revealing a significant research gap. In light of this, our study seeks to bridge this gap by investigating the relationship between social media adoption and performance in 261 micro-businesses within the food and beverage sector. We aim to explore the role of distinctive competencies in marketing as a mediating variable and examine the influence of service delivery innovation architecture from the perspective of service-dominant logic theory. We employ SEM-Amos as our analytical tool to test the formulated hypotheses to achieve this. The result show that this study significantly advances SDL theory by elucidating the pivotal role of social media adoption in understanding customer behavior and gaining valuable insights. In the context of SDL, this contributes to the understanding of how services are co-created between businesses and customers in a digitally connected environment. The outcomes of this research offer valuable insights for small businesses on leveraging social media adoption to enhance their distinctive competencies in marketing and service delivery innovation architecture.

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, societal activities across diverse domains have undergone significant transformation. Within the information society, individuals and governments increasingly rely on technology-facilitated social connections. This study aims to identify the factors influencing social media adoption in government organizations. Using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, this study validates a model of social media adoption. Employing a quantitative approach with Structural Equation Model testing, we explore the interplay of environmental, technological, and organizational dimensions. A meticulously crafted questionnaire was pilot tested to ensure validity and reliability, and data were collected from 434 users through multistage sampling. The findings highlight the positive correlation between social media adoption and technological, environmental, and organizational contexts in government organizations. Theoretical contributions draw from the DeLone & McLean model of Information Systems, supported by insights from the TOE Framework. Ultimately, this study underscores the pivotal role of social media in enhancing service delivery in government spheres, advancing smarter governance.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the factors related to the adoption of social media by women entrepreneurial small businesses (ESBs). Design/methodology/approach – Using a structured survey instrument, this study gathered data from 101 women entrepreneurs in Yemen. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings – The results confirm that social media has been widely applied by women ESBs in Yemen and has made a significant contribution to different business strategies and processes, mainly marketing, promotion and communication. Social media adoption is linked mainly with nontechnical obstacles and challenges, in specific, those “soft” factors such as management attitude, as well as “hard” technical obstacles and challenges involving cost and other practical aspects regarding social media nature. Practical implications – This study contributes to the increase in awareness of the impact of social media among female ESB owners. A greater understanding of the impact of social media will eventually lead to better use of the tool to increase performance. Originality/value – This study highlights the perceived benefits and challenges that give Yemeni female business owners strong decision-making power in their businesses. This study provides insight into the numerous drivers that affect owners/managers’ decisions to adopt and continuously use social media in the future.

Although knowledge drives organizational growth, limited teamwork skills have hindered effective knowledge sharing and utilization across departments and individuals in higher education institutions (HEIs). Thus, this paper develops a pertinent knowledge-intensive teamworking model for HEIs. Educational background, leadership, and social media adoption were independent variables, while knowledge acquisition, development, application, revision, and knowledge-intensive teamwork were dependent variables. Using an online questionnaire, a quantitative investigation of 918 people across different HEIs tested hypotheses based on PLS-SEM findings. Results showed that educational background, leadership, and social media adoption are integral enablers in smoothing knowledge management operations, while the synergistic combination of process phases drives teamwork. Consequently, outcomes establish foundations for fostering a continuous learning culture, accountability, and cooperation in HEIs.

Not all information communication technologies are liked equally by their intended users. Situated within media richness and media ritual theories, this study conceptualizes the notion of liveness for live video streaming and its implementation for Facebook Live. A longitudinal analysis of 21 top hit radio stations in the United States in the years 2016 and 2018 found that, overall, Facebook Live did not garner audience approval. A closer examination of the Facebook Live content showed that while in-studio content featuring radio announcers in their traditional setup did not solicit followers' likes, Facebook Live posts that featured out-of-studio locations gained more approval in 2018. These findings show how technological-algorithmic platforms are leveraged by radio stations, even if they are not endorsed by social media users. The implication of these findings is that the meaningful integration of video live streaming is still negotiated on social media platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Galician Journal of Economics / Revista Galega de Economía is the property of Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Servicio de Publicaciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This content analysis aims to investigate how the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework can be used in the field of business management. The selected articles were confined within TOE framework, social media adoption as the mediator and small and medium sized-enterprises' (SMEs) performance in Kelantan, Malaysia. A total of 15 articles were regarded as fitting the scope. The articles were analysed using the QSR NVivo 10 software in which coding and categorisation of the attributes according to the list of nodes were performed. As a result, the content analysis suggests that technological, organizational and environmental context sub-dimensions could be considered for the TOE framework in future research. Apart from that, future researchers could refer to the frequency analysis performed on those 15 articles in providing practical recommendations and guidelines for SME managers to effectively leverage social media platforms to enhance performance within the TOE framework. Overall, this research provides a comprehensive and systematic approach to studying the impact of social media adoption on SMEs' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing importance of social media as a communication and marketing tool is reshaping how companies engage with their customers. Despite its numerous advantages, the social media adoption rate remains low among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Croatia. Therefore, this study aims to recognize the primary elements that affect the acceptance of social media by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The research observes social media as a technological innovation and investigates its implementation within Croatia, a developing country. Using the TOE model as a guiding theoretical framework, a comprehensive agenda examines social media adoption within the technological, organizational, and environmental contexts in which SMEs operate. The research relies on an empirical analysis conducted on 86 surveyed SMEs. By applying the PLS-SEM method, the results showed that the technological and environmental contexts, as higher-order constructs, positively and significantly influence the adoption of social media in Croatian SMEs. The study is important because it contributes to the body of knowledge on social media adoption in developing countries and guides key personnel in SMEs in adopting social media in their organizations.

Research has shown the potential of social media to disseminate important information as well as transform citizen engagement with government. However, implementation proves difficult, especially in public sector organizations. The success, impact and performance of these new forms of networked interactions are yet to be fully explored, especially at the local level. Many municipalities are experimenting with social media use, but few actively measure their performance on these platforms and their interactions with users. Different frameworks have been proposed to describe government communication types and activity on social media. They are addressed here through three phases that refer to forms of government‐citizen communication on social media. The original assessment method developed here contributes to the existing literature and provides guidance to practitioners. Empirically, our research relies on a database of cities that have between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants in European Union member states located in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides social media metrics for these cities (N=82 and compares various indicators on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This contributes to a better assessment ofhow social media platforms are used by local governments in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the under-researched topic of the use of Twitter by members of parliament (MPs) in Latin America. There have not yet been any thorough comparative studies on this topic, and the majority of publications on the region focus on single case studies. Previous studies have primarily concentrated on presidents, or in the case of MPs, on specific case studies. A total of 2,353,138 tweets were accessed via the Twitter API, and 3,215 MPs were examined. Regression models and correlations were used to answer research questions, and the main variables examined concerned individual characteristics of MPs (gender and age) and socioeconomic indicators of the country (number of people on Twitter, internet access, Human Development Index - HDI). As a result, this paper offers a report on how MPs in Latin America are currently utilizing Twitter. While this social network is used by more than 90% of MPs in some countries (Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, and Uruguay), there are countries where fewer than half of MPs use it (Bolivia, Honduras, and Nicaragua). The results show that female MPs are more likely than male MPs to use Twitter. In addition, Twitter is being adopted more by younger MPs. Other results show that country characteristics such as internet penetration, Twitter population, and the HDI are significant predictors regarding the adoption and use of Twitter by MPs. These results are consistent with assumptions based on cost-benefit calculus. Thus, it does not make as much sense for politicians to adopt Twitter in countries where there are fewer people on Twitter and low internet penetration. In particular, if politicians want to be elected or inform citizens about their activities, they have an opportunity to reach voters through Twitter. However, this is only true if Twitter is used in their countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the health, economy, and social sectors, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide, including in Indonesia. This paper examines the use of social media and e-commerce with an entrepreneurial orientation to enhance the business performance of MSMEs. The study should serve as a model for improving the quality of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the Jambi Province, in Indonesia. The research employs quantitative and qualitative approaches. The latter method employs in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and observation, whereas the former uses the partial least squares method (PLS). The findings and discussions conclude that social media adoption positively affected the performance and entrepreneurial orientation of MSMEs during the said period. Similarly, e-commerce positively affected the performance and entrepreneurial orientation of MSMEs. Entrepreneurialism and social media adoption had a significant impact on the performance of MSMEs, and due to its entrepreneurial orientation, e-commerce influenced the performance of MSMEs

Improvement in social media (SM) platforms and their ability to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach a large audience has led to changes in how entrepreneurial firms carry out their regular activities. Studies on entrepreneurship and SM adoption are relatively new and fragmented; however, there is scant interest from managers, scholars, and governments for future research work in this area in emerging countries. This study aims to investigate the role of SM adoption and innovation capabilities (IC) in improving SME performance. We employ the resource-based view (RBV) as a basis for the conceptual model and infer relationships between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), SM adoption, IC, and SME performance. A closed-ended questionnaire was administered to collect data through a web-based survey and quantitative analysis was employed to generalise the results. The proposed relationships are tested on a sample of 431 randomly selected SMEs, applying the PLS algorithm, bootstrapping, and blindfolding techniques using SmartPLS 3.0. The findings reveal that SME performance could be improved by EO, SM adoption, and IC. Additionally, SM adoption significantly mediates the EO–SME-performance relationship, and IC moderates the SM-adoption–SME-performance association. This paper also makes several theoretical and practical contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify, analyse, and rank the critical factors affecting social media usage in Egyptian SMEs. This study proposed Technology-Organisation-Environment-Individual (TOEI) framework that integrates the individual dimension into the TOE framework to identify the key factors that drive SMEs in Egypt to use social media in their businesses. The identified factors were collected through a comprehensive review of literature, as well as participants’ opinions. The Best-Worst Method (BWM) was employed to evaluate and prioritise the factors according to their relative importance using data collected from twenty participants. The research findings indicate that relative advantage, cost-effectiveness, customer pressure, competitive pressure, complexity, owner attitude, owner support, owner innovativeness, interactivity, and observability are the highest ranked factors driving the usage of social media among SMEs in Egypt. This research has important implications for practitioners and researchers interested in investigating SMEs’ adoption of social media and how to promote the usage of social media among SMEs in developing countries. The findings of this study also help Egyptian SMEs’ owners recognise the major aspects that influence their decisions to use social media.

Through social media technologies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can communicate information and respond to competitors with minimal cost. The ability to share and access information can affect SMEs' performance, but there is little research on the link between social media adoption and their small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) service performance. The objective of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for social media adoption and assess its impact on the service performance of SMEs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penetration of smartphones and increasing use of social media on always-on devices has attracted the attention of enterprises and organizations to benefit from such platforms for better understanding of customers’ needs and more effectively communicate with potential consumers. For this purpose, the present study investigates the impact of social media adoption and media needs on online purchasing behavior. This study has also examined the moderating role of media type, gender and age in the relationship between variables of social media adoption and online purchasing behavior. A total of 410 questionnaires were collected on social media such as Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp. SEM technique using PLS used as the analytical method to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. Results show that the effects of tension dimension on online purchasing behavior is mediated by social media adoption. Moreover, the effects of social media adoption on online purchasing behavior are moderated by age and medium type based on Multi-Group Analysis. The IPMA matrix shows that social media adoption had the highest importance, but the lowest performance. This study is significant in terms of innovation due to the use of new indicators effective in the area of statistical analyses. The use of FIMIX, CTA, permutation test, MGA, and IPMA matrix analyses is part of it.

The Philippines is internationally recognized as a best practice in advancing migration governance despite its complex, yet comprehensive landscape of migration policies, norms and structures, and institutions. More recently, the rise of social media has created ripples across sectors and actors due to its transformational power. The country’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) acknowledged this development and commenced its social media adoption process in 2011 and has rapidly evolved to keep up with the changing environment. Key informant interviews with officials and staff from the DFA reveal, that the agency has opened accounts in key social media platforms and that, this undertaking was positively received by its employees. According to the Mergel and Bretschneider model, it can be characterized as belonging to Level 3: Institutionalization and Consolidation upon the release of DO No. 16-2014, which prescribes “Guidelines on the Use of Social Media Use by All Units and Personnel of the DFA”. The cited document laid out specific rules and regulations on key facets of social media practices, such as access, content management, personal use of SM by DFA personnel, compliance mechanism, and administrative liability. Nevertheless, the DFA's social media adoption process is still challenged by inadequate resources and lack of a central sub-office, absence of success metrics, and spurious reports.

Increasing globalization and rapid digitization across industries have led to greater international competition. Furthermore, the emergence of new innovation has created both challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs have recently been attracted to social media applications to reach a larger audience, improve their relationship with potential customers, and retain existing customers. However, the scant focus has been devoted to comprehensively understanding the adoption of social media in the SME context in developing countries. This study investigates the effects of technological-organizational-environmental (TOE) factors on social media adoption and its effect on SME performance. Data was collected by generating online survey link. SmartPLS 3.3 was used for the path analysis of 381 SMEs. The findings revealed a significant effect of relative advantage, cost-effectiveness, compatibility, interactivity (technological), entrepreneurial orientation (organizational), and customer pressure (environmental) factors, and an insignificant effect of top management support (organizational) and competitive pressure (environmental) determinants on social media adoption. The study found a significant influence of social media on SME performance. This paper offers several implications for decision-makers, policy-makers, and scholars interested in social media and its use. It builds an empirical, integrated framework for SMEs in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of small-medium enterprises (SMEs) and their contributions to the economy are well recognized in the literature. However, SMEs have been challenged by COVID-19. There are limited empirical findings suggesting how the government lockdown policy affected SME sustainability. This study investigated the sustainability of Indonesia's SMEs, and their social media adoption, financial literacy and financial access during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also determined the effect of social media adoption, financial literacy, and financial access on SME sustainability. The resources-based theory was applied to understand the phenomena. Twenty-six SMEs operating in Pariaman city participated in this study. Variables were measured by a fivepoint Likert scale, and were analyzed descriptively. Furthermore, structural equation modelling was utilized, and in this case, smart-pls 3.2.8. was used. The results showed that the level of social media adoption was extremely low (mean = 2.20). The SMEs' financial literacy was adequate (mean = 3.56). SMEs could access financial resources (mean = 3.84). Finally, the sustainability of SMEs was extremely low (mean = 2.35). Also, out of the three latent independent variables (social media adoption, financial literacy, financial access), only social media adoption had a positively significant effect on SME sustainability. This study implies that SMEs should increase social media adoption to gain higher sustainability. The authority should help build SME capabilities in digital marketing so that they survive in this turbulent time. This study contributes to the resources-based theory because variation in SME sustainability was determined by the SMEs' resources, such as their digital marketing capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Philippines is internationally recognized as a best practice in advancing migration governance despite its complex, yet comprehensive landscape of migration policies, norms and structures, and institutions. More recently, the rise of social media has created ripples across sectors and actors due to its transformational power. The country's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) acknowledged this development and commenced its social media adoption process in 2011 and has rapidly evolved to keep up with the changing environment. Key informant interviews with officials and staff from the DFA reveal, that the agency has opened accounts in key social media platforms and that, this undertaking was positively received by its employees. According to the Mergel and Bretschneider model, it can be characterized as belonging to Level 3: Institutionalization and Consolidation upon the release of DO No. 16-2014, which prescribes "Guidelines on the Use of Social Media Use by All Units and Personnel of the DFA". The cited document laid out specific rules and regulations on key facets of social media practices, such as access, content management, personal use of SM by DFA personnel, compliance mechanism, and administrative liability. Nevertheless, the DFA's social media adoption process is still challenged by inadequate resources and lack of a central sub-office, absence of success metrics, and spurious reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed teachers perceived adoption of WhatsApp as an educational tool and curriculum content implementation in Calabar Municipality in Cross River State, Nigeria. One purpose of the study was stated and converted into one research question. Literature review was carried out based on the variable understudy and the descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The accidental sampling techniques was used in the study. The method of data collection was a ten items four point rating scale questionnaire. A sample of 162 respondents was used in the study and the reliability index of the instrument was .85 using the Cronbach Alpha Reliability method. The statistical tool for data analysis was the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. The result of the study showed that teachers often adopt WhatsApp as an educational tool in curriculum content delivery in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, Nigeria. Based on the finding of the study, it was recommended that government should ensure that school authorities regularly organize in- service training to train and retrain teachers on current trends in the adoption of whatsapp technologies in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media institutionalization in public administrations has been conceptualized as the final stage of the adoption process. However, an understanding of organizational models for social media institutionalization in public administration is lacking. This exploratory study of Dutch local governments contributes to the literature by identifying how governments organize social media institutionalization. Drawing on an original questionnaire on social media adoption, two advanced cases were selected based on their high level of social media institutionalization: Utrecht and Eindhoven. For each case, in-depth semi structured interviews were carried out aiming at detecting institutionalization patterns. Our study highlights that, in contrast with the literature on stages of technological maturity, social media institutionalization shows two different organizational models: a centralized model, based on trust, with highly structured and formalized policy guides, low experimentation, formal training and evaluation supported by standardized reports; and a distributed model, based on control, with simple guiding principles, higher levels of experimentation, training build on a "learn by doing" basis, and individual evaluation mechanisms. These results enrich current academic understanding of social media institutionalization and may guide public officials involved in social media institutionalization practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study focuses on the Philippine government's response to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in distress, especially those in the Middle East, using social media platforms. It examines the level of social media adoption by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in protecting Filipino nationals abroad. The popularity of social networking sites among Filipinos, including DFA officials and staff, played a vital role in influencing the institution's move toward social media adoption. Key informant interviews were conducted with 10 officials, case officers, and staff at the DFA home office and Foreign Service Posts in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from June to July 2019. While Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be effective tools for speedy communication between the DFA and OFWs, the DFA faces several challenges such as budgetary constraints, lack of human resources with ICT skills, and verifying reports, among others. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the indispensable role of social media platforms in communicating with OFWs and in extending assistance to those in distress. Hence, the DFA may consider the formulation of an agency-wide social media strategy and collaboration with other migration authorities on social media-anchored projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media has proliferated into the everyday life of Vietnamese people. As a result, in the past years, Vietnam has seen many organizational crises that started on this platform. Social media has proven to be able to foster crises, thanks to open platforms that allow for relatively free discussion among strangers with common interests. Nonetheless, Vietnamese organizations have often ignored or underutilized these channels in their crisis communication efforts. Organizations prioritize using traditional media in their crisis communication efforts and paid little to no attention to social media outlets, even if the crisis had started on social media channels. Through a survey with experienced Vietnamese PR practitioners, this research aims to understand this trend of crisis management and explore the perception of Vietnamese organizations toward the use of social media in crisis communication. Bahasa Indonesia Abstrak: Media sosial telah menjamur ke dalam kehidupan sehari-hari rakyat di Vietnam. Akibatnya, dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, Vietnam telah melihat banyak krisis organisasi yang dimulai pada platform ini. Media sosial telah terbukti mampu menumbuhkan krisis, berkat platform terbuka yang memungkinkan diskusi bebas untuk kepentingan bersama. Meskipun demikian, organisasi di Vietnam sering mengabaikan atau kurang memanfaatkan saluran-saluran ini dalam upaya krisis komunikasi yang mereka alami. Organisasi lebih memprioritaskan menggunakan media tradisional dalam upaya menanggulangi krisis komunikasi mereka dan sedikit memberikan perhatian kepada outlet media sosial, bahkan jika krisis telah dimulai pada saluran media sosial. Melalui survei yang dilakukan oleh praktisi PR di Vietnam yang berpengalaman, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memahami tren manajemen krisis ini dan mengeksplorasi persepsi organisasi di Vietnam terhadap penggunaan media sosial dalam komunikasi krisis.

This study aims to explicate the contribution of social media platforms adoption on start-up sustainability. Since most economies of the world start-up failure rate are relatively high, there is always a desire or a need to investigate the success recipe. As a result, the primary objective of this study is to understand the social media environment and how start-ups can best utilize social media platforms throughout their life cycle. Based on the qualitative case study approach, five in-depth interviews of social media marketers and individuals working in start-ups were conducted. The finding demonstrates that social media is a crucial virtual platform for striving resource start-ups. Therefore, if a platform gets utilized correctly, it can play an essential role in the sustainable progression of a start-up. Thus, there is a need for start-ups to articulate a comprehensive social media policy for each life cycle stage.

This study aims to explicate the contribution of social media platforms adoption on start-up sustainability. Since most economies of the world start-up failure rate are relatively high, there is always a desire or a need to investigate the success recipe. As a result, the primary objective of this study is to understand the social media environment and how start-ups can best utilize social media platforms throughout their life cycle. Based on the qualitative case study approach, five in-depth interviews of social media marketers and individuals working in start-ups were conducted. The finding demonstrates that social media is a crucial virtual platform for striving resource start-ups. Therefore, if a platform gets utilized correctly, it can play an essential role in the sustainable progression of a start-up. Thus, there is a need for start-ups to articulate a comprehensive social media policy for each life cycle stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present the new online database Politicians on Social Media (https://www.politiciansonsocialmedia. com), which is intended for both academics and the public. This database was created with the aim of being continuously updated and providing relevant information on politicians' activity on social media. We first used data from this database to analyze Twitter. This social networking site is increasingly at the forefront of scientific interest due to its growing number of users. It is often examined with respect to how politicians use it. For politicians, Twitter is an opportunity not only to inform people about their activities but also to communicate directly with voters. Attention is focused on members of parliaments (MPs). We examine not only how many MPs have adopted Twitter but also how active they are on it. We also examine the determinants of Twitter adoption by MPs. We analyzed all countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, and the United Kingdom. Therefore, the research includes 32 European countries. Our analysis revealed that most MPs have adopted Twitter in Western European countries such as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, or the United Kingdom, while MPs in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia use Twitter the least. Twitter is very actively used by Spanish and British MPs. By contrast, the least active MPs on Twitter are in post-communist countries such as Bulgaria and Romania. Our correlation analysis showed a strong association between the number of Twitter users in countries and the adoption of Twitter by MPs. Specifically, more Twitter users in a country correlates with its being adopted by more MPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article, we present the new online database Politicians on Social Media (https://www.politiciansonsocialmedia. com), which is intended for both academics and the public. This database was created with the aim of being continuously updated and providing relevant information on politicians’ activity on social media. We first used data from this database to analyze Twitter. This social networking site is increasingly at the forefront of scientific interest due to its growing number of users. It is often examined with respect to how politicians use it. For politicians, Twitter is an opportunity not only to inform people about their activities but also to communicate directly with voters. Attention is focused on members of parliaments (MPs). We examine not only how many MPs have adopted Twitter but also how active they are on it. We also examine the determinants of Twitter adoption by MPs. We analyzed all countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, and the United Kingdom. Therefore, the research includes 32 European countries. Our analysis revealed that most MPs have adopted Twitter in Western European countries such as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, or the United Kingdom, while MPs in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia use Twitter the least. Twitter is very actively used by Spanish and British MPs. By contrast, the least active MPs on Twitter are in post-communist countries such as Bulgaria and Romania. Our correlation analysis showed a strong association between the number of Twitter users in countries and the adoption of Twitter by MPs. Specifically, more Twitter users in a country correlates with its being adopted by more MPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]