Online communities in Poland: are e-commerce companies involved in creating and managing online social networks?

Abstract

The challenges in the lifestyles, social and economical conversions, and technological developments lead the marketers to use modern marketing techniques. The way people used to communicate has completely been changed over the last decade. Nowadays, online social networks are one of the most powerful communication and information sharing systems worldwide. The authors put a thesis that the top e-commerce companies in Poland create and develop online communities with the intention of using them in marketing strategies. The paper presents the results of pilot study conducted on in Poland. The main purpose of this study is to contribute to the concept of online social networks as an alternative marketing technique. The following hypothesis will be tested: Hypothesis 1: top e-commerce companies in Poland involve online communities in their business; Hypothesis 2: the degree of e-commerce companies involvement in relations with online communities is not related with the business sector.