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Article
Publication date: 25 October 2019

Elzbieta Lepkowska-White, Amy Parsons and William Berg

This study aims to use a social media management framework and strategic orientation framework to explore how small restaurants manage social media.

7384

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to use a social media management framework and strategic orientation framework to explore how small restaurants manage social media.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors content-analyzed social media activity and interviews with 14 managers of social media in small independent restaurants in the northeast region of the USA that employed fewer than 20 employees.

Findings

The results of the study show that most small restaurants can be classified as anarchic, hierarchical and conservative defenders, and that they mainly focus on promotional activities on social media. The majority use social media also to drive traffic to a restaurant and, thus, act as calculative pragmatists. Very few use social media strategically or creatively in any of the social media management stages, and very few monitor or use social media information to improve their operations.

Research limitations/implications

This study shows that the adopted theoretical framework in this study for social media management helps analyze social media operations in small restaurants, points to the strategic orientations applied in small restaurants, shows the intricacies of each stage and helps show what small restaurants do well and how they can improve. Future research may use larger samples, investigate frameworks particularly relevant to small restaurants, such as the resource-based view (RBV) framework, and may focus on creative and diverse strategic approaches toward social media management for small establishments.

Practical implications

As customers continue shifting to social media and review sites, more restaurants may want to invest in developing more creative approaches toward social media and do it in more structured, integrated and continuous ways. The study describes a process they may want to follow and specific tactics that could be implemented to use social media more strategically in all stages of social media management.

Social implications

Not only are small business establishments the backbone of the restaurant industry, but they also appeal to customers more than large chains. This study shows how these small businesses can utilize social media to attract more customers, engage them, learn about them and their competitive environment to market and improve their operations.

Originality/value

The authors focus on the supplier side of social media for restaurants, a perspective lacking in the literature, and specifically small restaurants that receive less attention in prior research. Few studies exist that explore how social media is incorporated in all stages of social media management. The study points to the unique challenges that small restaurants experience in the process of using social media for marketing, monitoring and using social media to improve their operations. The study uses a relatively large sample of qualitative interviews conducted with managers of small restaurants and a content analysis of their actual social media activity.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 27 September 2022

Elzbieta Lepkowska-White, Amy L. Parsons, Bridget Wong and Alexandria M White

Research shows that the majority of investors, consumers and even younger consumers who are interested in social responsibility are unaware of B Corps. Companies spend significant…

730

Abstract

Purpose

Research shows that the majority of investors, consumers and even younger consumers who are interested in social responsibility are unaware of B Corps. Companies spend significant time and money to obtain B Corp status that B Lab, the non-profit that certifies companies, wants to use as a force for good. Using signaling theory and corporate communication theory, the study examines whether B Corps market their B Corp status effectively on B Corps' social media sites to determine whether brand equity is being built there for the B Corp label by the B Corp companies themselves.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors content analyzed social media activity of 100 randomly selected US B Corps ranging in size and industry type over a two-month period on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. The sample was selected from the listing of the B Corporations on the B Lab website using a skip interval method. The authors searched for preselected keywords within two main categories, one directly mentioning B Corps (such as B Corp logo and B Corp name), and another discussing company social responsibility activities that directly relate to what B Corps do but did not mention the B Corp name.

Findings

The study finds that half of the B Corps had no social media presence. Of those who were active on social media, most B Corps did not mention B Corp status while many of the B Corps discussed social responsibility activities that directly talked about workers, environment, community, and governance, the areas that B Corp certification covers.

Research limitations/implications

The study indicates that reverse decoupling might better explain communication of B Corp certification on social media than signaling theory. The finding is consistent with more recent research on certifications that shows that obtaining certifications by companies does not have to be followed by marketing certificates even when that could be beneficial. On the other hand, communication of general pro-social claims is consistent with the assumptions of the signaling theory and often used by B Corps. The study suggests why companies market general claims but not a B Corp label. Findings also suggest that when promoting the B Corp label is not done, a firm's internal values are not being expressed externally but when social responsible activities are promoted, a firm's internal values are being expressed externally. The research points to a missed opportunity for B Corps that spend significant resources to get certified. Future studies should employ larger samples with and international companies and venture into other forms of marketing through which B Corp status may be conveyed.

Practical implications

B Corps can easily connect information on the socially responsible activities of B Corps with B Corp status on social media and reap the benefits of B Corps by creating equity for B Corp label on multiple levels. This would also help B-Lab that strives to develop a stronger brand for the B Corps' certification. When consumers know what B Corp stands for, consumers are willing to pay premium prices. Investors are also increasingly interested in companies that care for stakeholders and the environment and are governed in transparent and socially responsible ways.

Social implications

B Corps are described by the B-Lab as a “force for good” that benefits communities, environment and society. Understanding how certifications such as B Corps are communicated to the public and improving how they are communicated can help businesses reap more benefits from B Corps' socially responsible activity and help consumers and investors become educated about such companies so that B Corps can support them. This is important as B-Corps certification is still not well known. Marketing B Corp certification more effectively can help develop a wider and stronger network of businesses that want to do good, investors that want to found socially responsible companies and consumers who want to buy from B Corps. To create such a marketplace B Corps need to be better marketed online.

Originality/value

The study shows that the authors cannot assume that the certifications that companies obtain, often using significant resources and potentially offering many benefits for building brand equity, will be communicated to the stakeholders to reap these benefits. The study provides possible reasons for why companies may not market such endeavors. The study questions assumptions implicit in signaling theory and by using reverse decoupling the study explains why companies may pursue certifications but not market that the companies obtain them even when pro-social certifications have a great potential to differentiate a company among stakeholders that look for socially responsible firms. The study questions what this means for creating a change in business to become a “force for good.”

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2006

Amy L Parsons

2609

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

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Article
Publication date: 14 April 2014

Amy L. Parsons

394

Abstract

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 7 September 2012

Amy L. Parsons

290

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
1090

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 6 November 2007

Amy L. Parsons

331

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 24 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 18 September 2007

Amy L. Parsons

273

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

Amy L. Parsons

418

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Amy L. Parsons

184

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 20 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

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