engleski

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF RELATIONSHIP-ORIENTED SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG BUSINESSES THE CASE OF CROATIA

Changes in technology affect all aspects of contemporary business, but the marketing and sales processes might be the most affected. Namely, social media, as a technology outcome, show potential to revolutionize or at least substantially affect the communication process and the way of building and developing relationships among buyers and sellers. The number of social media users has grown over time until reaching today's high numbers. Moreover, internet users spend a great amount of their online time on social media. Furthermore, the spread of smartphones allows all day long online activities and the role of millennials, who are highly comfortable with the use of technology, as consumers and employees is growing in importance day by day. The current study seeks to analyze the use of social media and tools among businesses of all sizes and among enterprises in the B2B market. The study aims at establishing whether companies use social media in their businesses, determining which social media and tools are predominantly used by companies in Croatia, and establishing if they are active on these media. Further objectives of this study are to define the type of activities conducted and their scope. This exploratory study may provide the basis for further research on the use of social media for marketing and sales purposes. This paper will be added to the body of knowledge with insights into these relatively new marketing and sales tools. Furthermore, the study will contribute to practitioners by highlighting contemporary trends and tools they should adopt and use to adjust their approach to contemporary users and marketing.

social media, marketing, sales, Croatia

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