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Social Media and Innovation: The Relationship between Firms’ Facebook Activity and Product Innovation Development

John, Friederike (2014) Social Media and Innovation: The Relationship between Firms’ Facebook Activity and Product Innovation Development.

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Abstract:This master thesis investigates whether social media can act as a facilitator for firm innovation. After a review of theoretical and empirical innovation literature specifically involving users, the effects of social media on firms are shown and four success factors for social media involvement in innovation are developed: quantifying engagement, developing a specific and goal-oriented social media strategy, providing a firm culture of openness, and applying co-creation methods via social media. In four hypotheses, each of these success factors is proposed to positively influence innovation. In conjunction, they form a research model to connect social media with innovation. The hypotheses are tested using product innovation data and a small sample of firms. Facebook is chosen as a representative social media platform. The results show that the scaled conversation rate of a Facebook fan page positively influences innovation. Also, more innovators than non-innovators of the online survey had developed a social media strategy, indicating that a strategic approach to social media management improves firm innovation. The impact of openness culture and the application of co-creation methods could not be shown empirically, but a variety of limitations aid in explaining the absence of clear results and offer multiple future research directions.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66096
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