Predicting business related social media engagement among Irish SME owner-managers

Purpose. The overall aim of this research is to provide a better understanding owner-mangers social media engagement intentions and behaviour within their SME business activities. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is employed, as it purposes that the level of social media engagement intentions results from their attitudes, subjective or and perceived behavioural control. Design/methodology/approach. A quantitative approach employing a survey design measuring social media engagement intentions and behaviour as outlined by the TPB framework, along with ROI, trust, security, social media engagement and demographics. The online survey was sent to two hundred and fifty-five SMEs (n = 255). Of which one hundred and twenty-four (n = 124) completed the online survey. Findings. Overall, the TPB model provided a good explanation of SME owner-managers social media engagement as a business-related activity. Findings highlighted the important role of attitudes and PBC predicting social media engagement and usage. It was only security and ROI which was reported to have a significant influence either on engagement attitudes, intentions or behaviour. The other drivers failed to research statistical significance. Research limitations/implications. Despite there being some limitations such as sample size, it must be acknowledged that there is substantial value attached to the research for existing academic understanding, SME practitioners and policymakers at local and national levels. Originality/value. Though research has previously focused on predicting SM use within many groups; little has focused on SME owners or managers. Additionally, little research has considered the value of ROI and its role predicting social media engagement.