Abstract
The thesis aims to explore and explain how Social Media impacts the B2B-Business Development process in a global software environment. Mixed-methods uncover the leading media platforms applied in the Business Development process cycle. The thesis produced a model, illustrating two dimensions of Social Media Business Usage, four critical Business Development process phases, and their impact on Performance mediated by Social Capital. To extend generalizability, future research may focus on testing the model for New Business Development exclusively. Significant contributions are classifying relevant Social Media platforms, distilling the process phases with the greatest impact on performance. The creation of new indices advances the performance discussion, and the typology of Business Developers capitalises on optimising the process sequence.
Highlights
This thesis presents a novel conceptualization of B2B-Business Development that reflects on Social Media and Traditional Media Usage during different B2B-Business Development process phases
Recent academic and practitioner studies presume that Social Media Usage in B2B-Business Development is an emerging phenomenon with little direction and scant guidance (Michaelidou et al, 2011)
The paucity of scholarly research in the past decade can be mainly explained by the uncertain effects of Social Media Usage on Performance, the absence of a clear definition of B2B-Business Development (Eidhoff & Poelzl, 2014) and the isolated research of both areas with the consequence that the adoption of Social Media is delayed in Business Development (Moore et al, 2015)
Summary
This thesis presents a novel conceptualization of B2B-Business Development that reflects on Social Media and Traditional Media Usage during different B2B-Business Development process phases. I became aware that Social Media in the global software industry has to be understood and conceptualized from the dominant perspectives of Information Technology, Business Development, Marketing, and Sales to retrieve of the myriad of available platforms the set optimally resonating with the individual phase or the entire process cycle. This implies that raising awareness of the Business Development process-orientation comes first. Identifying and prospecting buyers with direct responsibility for software purchases through Social Media renders B2BBusiness Development processes more agile and closes business deals faster This observation is accurate when firm-/market specific knowledge supports in developing innovative software solutions, deepening the relationship with buyers and increasing leads and opportunities. All these aspects positively might influence the conversion rate in new business (Pöyry et al, 2017)
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