Social media marketing em micro e pequenas empresas : adoção e desempenho mercadológico.

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to investigate the use of Social Media Marketing (SMM) by micro and small enterprises and its relationship with market performance. Based on the Technology, Organization, and Environment Theory, three articles were developed. The first article corresponded to exploratory qualitative research, in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with micro and small entrepreneurs, and the corpus was submitted to content analysis. The second article corresponded to a survey application, and a quantitative study was carried out in a descriptive character through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the adoption process of SMM by micro and small enterprises. The third article corresponded to another survey application, and a cross-sectional descriptive quantitative study was conducted to analyze the relationship between the attitude of micro and small entrepreneurs regarding the adoption of SMM and market performance, considering the mediating role of technical knowledge and tool usage level. The results showed that in addition to the findings regarding inherent factors in the adoption of SMM from the perspective of micro and small entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs can be activated through different ways, such as behavioral intentions, social representations, and changes in thinking, as long as there is prior interest and affinity with what is being published. Additionally, it was evident that the greater the recognition of the factors, the greater the perceived benefits of adoption and the interest in continuing to use the strategic tool, resulting in better market performance. The dissertation contributes to a better understanding of the adoption process of SMM by micro and small enterprises and its relationship with market performance, highlighting some inherent implications that facilitate or inhibit not only the adoption but also the market performance of these companies.