The impact of social media on resource mobilisation in entrepreneurial firms

Abstract

This paper examines the impact that social media has on the development of entrepreneurial firms' new, and maintenance of existing, B2B relationships and networks through resource mobilisation. Using the craft brewing and artisan food sectors, the empirical research entailed content analysis of the entrepreneurs' social media platforms complemented by in-depth interviews. Findings demonstrate that Facebook and Twitter impact the entrepreneurial firms' dyadic and network actor engagement, information search and share, collaboration, and operational processes co-ordination and reconfiguration processes. Our research suggests that the impact of social media extends that of a virtual communication platform to a resource layer in the creation and maintenance of activity structures in business-to-business relationships and networks.