Högskolan i Skövde

Purpose – This study examines the drivers of country-level high Social Media Penetration (SMP) rate by considering the concurrent causation of cultural and socio-economic conditions.

Method – Ninety-four countries across continents were analyzed using the set-theoretic configurational approach fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA 3.0).

Findings – Results reveal that the adult literacy rate is the necessary condition and found four causal combinations for high SMP.

Limitations – Limitations related to using secondary data at a single point and including only two socio-economic conditions in the design are recognized.

Contributions to literature- This study is believed to be among the first to use QCA for testing and providing evidence of SMP as an outcome of cultural and social-economic conditions. It contributes to theory by advancing our knowledge of what combination of cultural and social-economic factors would result in high or low SMP.

Practical Implications- This study provides managerial implications for both digital marketers and social media technology designers and suppliers. With the increasing connectedness in this digital age, global marketers should be more mindful and respectful of the expectations of their customers around the world and shape their decision-making processes accordingly. Social media can be a very effective tool to help global marketers learn about other cultures, overcome adjustment challenges, and establish as well as maintain relationships. All these can accelerate the integration into the host culture during their adaptation (Sawyer and Chen, 2012). Our study provides greater insights of what combination of cultural and social-economic conditions may facilitate or inhibit the adoption of their platforms. Our findings can also help social media managers in their global targeting initiatives. Customized social media programs can be designed to target a specific cluster of countries according to usage patterns based on technological capability and social norms.

Social implications- More and more reports have been published to attest to the economic and social impact of social media. Despite the rapid growing influence on our societies, social media remains a relatively untapped source of information to catalyze policy action and social change (Yeung, 2018). Our study offers insight for social policy making by identifying multiple paths to enhance social media’s penetration as decision makers increasingly realize its potential and long-term benefits resulted from continued use of social media analytics.

Originality- This study is believed to be among the first to use QCA for testing and providing evidence of SMP as an outcome of cultural and social-economic conditions. It identifies four complex antecedent paths that are responsible for high SMP, allowing for a more comprehensive explanation of our outcome of interest.