Institutional isomorphism and social media adoption – a study within the microenterprise context
Aslib Journal of Information Management
ISSN: 2050-3806
Article publication date: 5 April 2022
Issue publication date: 29 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Until now, very little empirical research has focused on social media adoption behavior within relatively small firms, and fewer still on adoption drivers within the specific context of microentrepreneurs, including that of micro-retailers. The purpose of this manuscript is to contribute to the study on social media adoption at the firm level by focusing on the specific role of institutional pressures, as captured by coercive, mimetic and normative pressures, in the initial adoption of social media in the context of micro-retailers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study, based on self-administered questionnaires, collected data from more than 200 micro-retailers in an emerging market and utilized the partial least squares modeling approach.
Findings
Findings reveal that normative and mimetic (not coercive) pressures are critical to initial adoption. Additional analysis, though not directly the center of attention in the study, indicates that both coercive and normative pressures are critical to continued adoption, especially for retailers who currently use social media to promote their businesses.
Originality/value
This study represents one of the few attempts to extend the institutional theory to study social media adoption behavior in the firm. In addition, it is the first in the literature to extend the theory to social media adoption within the context of microenterprises, primarily micro-retailers, who form the significant majority in the world.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers as well as the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor of this journal for their valued feedback and suggestions. The authors are also grateful to Prof. Jonathan Fisher (Professor of English, UIR) for assisting in the copyediting of the manuscript.
Citation
Osakwe, C.N. and Ikhide, J.E. (2022), "Institutional isomorphism and social media adoption – a study within the microenterprise context", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 74 No. 6, pp. 989-1006. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-06-2021-0178
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited