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The purpose of this paper is to examine both the Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social media adoption (SMA) for business purposes and the influence of culture on personal versus business social network platform (SNP) selection.

The Technology Acceptance Model’s (TAM) factors of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) as drivers of Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ social network platform selection are examined as well as the effect of SMA on revenue. Data was collected from 633 small business owners across the United States via an online survey administered in English and Spanish.

Results indicate that Latino/Hispanic business owners use personal SNP more than business SNP for business purposes. PU and PEU were not found to predict personal SNP for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs. However, for Non-Latino/Hispanics, PU was significant while PEU was marginally significant. Findings for PU and PEU as predictors of business SNP indicate similar results for both Latino/Hispanic and non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs, where only PEU was significant. Finally, there was no relationship between either business or personal SNP and revenue for either Latino/Hispanic or non-Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs.

This research provides more insight into Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ self-directed engagement in personal SNP (Facebook) and business SNP (LinkedIn) for business purposes and invites future research in this population to further examine cultural influence and business performance. The findings support the need for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ strengthening their competency in social media usage to remain competitive, as doing so will enhance their capability for building customer relationships, brand development, and equity financing.

This investigation 1) examines SMA’s role in Latino/Hispanic small and medium enterprises (SMEs); 2) distinguishes between personal and business social network platforms; 3) investigates TAM’s relevance for Latino/Hispanic entrepreneurs’ use of social media for business; and 4) explores SME social media usage as a predictor of revenue. We seek to provide practitioners with a greater understanding of how they may influence business success and sustainability through better competency development and usage of social media platforms.

This paper aims to discuss the importance of organisations paying closer attention to their corporate language policies as a strategy for embracing diversity in their workforce.

An exploratory study of the web sites of companies recognized for their diversity efforts is conducted to highlight their communication strategy, in particular the terminology used to refer to non‐whites.

This research found that the language used in corporate communications to refer to non‐whites varies even among companies that have been highly recognized for their diversity efforts. While the web sites clearly revealed the companies' commitment to diversity, the difficulty associated with this controversial issue can also be seen. An argument is made that organisations should eliminate the use of the term “minority” from their communications in an effort to enhance their diversity climate and more accurately reflect their commitment to diversity.

This research relied on web site content analysis and only the sites of companies that have been highly recognized for their diversity efforts were considered.

The paper shows that as the debate about the use of the term “minorities” continues, companies that embrace diversity should pay close attention to the language used in their corporate communications to ensure that the messages and signals they send consistently mirror their beliefs and perceptions of various stakeholders.

This research may be of special interest to communication strategists and persons within the organisation that are interested in improving their corporate image and addressing the behaviours and attitudes of the organisation's stakeholders.

When retail businesses, especially small businesses with greater vulnerability, could not meet consumers in person during the recent pandemic crisis, how did they adapt to the situation? This study examined how small business practitioners (SBPs’) perceptions, trust and adoption intention levels for social media, as well as the relationships among these variables, changed before and during the crisis based on the integration of the contingency theory and the diffusion of innovation theory (DIT).

Online surveys were conducted with USA SBPs before (n = 175) and during (n = 225) the recent pandemic. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple-group SEM analysis.

The results confirmed significant sequential positive relationships between SBPs’ perceived external pressure and perceived benefits of adopting social media, which in turn led to their trust in and then adoption intentions for social media. Further, the comparisons between the pre- and in-pandemic samples revealed that SBPs’ perceptions and adoption intentions all became significantly higher during (vs before) the pandemic, but the structural relationships among these variables weakened during the pandemic.

This study uses a novel approach to integrate the contingency theory with the DIT to propose small businesses' perceptions, trust and adoption intentions for social media during the innovation decision process under rapid contingency changes. Our findings also offer practical implications including recommendations for small businesses’ innovation management as well as training programs.

Effective use of human resources is important for the profitability and governance of family firms. In a study of the human resource management (HRM) practices of US Hispanic family firms, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the implications of agency and stewardship governance.

To better understand HRM practices in US Hispanic family firms, the authors present findings from 169 US firms to hypothesize the extent of HRM development in Hispanic family firms (n=70) vs non-Hispanic family firms (n=99).

Results indicated that HRM practices in Hispanic family firms are less structured than those of non-Hispanic family firms; however, when Hispanic family firms effectively use HRM practices, they will have greater financial success.

Therefore, the results suggest that Hispanic family firm leaders display relatively low agency governance and high stewardship governance.