IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v6y2022i12p328-334.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Adoption of Social Media and Internet as a Tool for Improving SMEs Performance in Sierra Leone; A Case Study of SMEs in Freetown Central Business District (CBD)

Author

Listed:
  • Mr. Shekou Ansumana Nuni

    (Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Sierra Leone, Canada)

  • Mr. Ansumana Feika

    (Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Sierra Leone, Canada)

Abstract

Internet and social media has not only revolutionalised business activities but also created a new way of doing business. It has become the new trend among businesses including SMEs. It was on this ground that this study was done to investigate social media and internet as a tool for improving SMEs performance in Sierra Leone. The study specifically examined the factors that influence the adoption of social media and internet among SMEs in Sierra Leone and determined the influence that the use of social media and internet has on SMEs market accessibility The study adopted a descriptive research design that collected primary data from a sample of fifty (50) SMEs in Freetown using questionnaires. Data were analysed using SPSS v26. Findings from the study revealed the factors that influence SMEs to adopt internet and social media and the influence of social media and internet on SMEs accessibility. The study further revealed that social media and internet influences SMEs accessibility in many ways. Conclusively, social media and internet is an important tool for improving SMEs performance in Sierra Leone. The study therefore recommended that SMEs conduct a cost-benefit analysis, the SME owners have some basic education needed for the operation of the technologies and training programmes are required for getting the best out of the use of IT.

Suggested Citation

  • Mr. Shekou Ansumana Nuni & Mr. Ansumana Feika, 2022. "The Adoption of Social Media and Internet as a Tool for Improving SMEs Performance in Sierra Leone; A Case Study of SMEs in Freetown Central Business District (CBD)," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(12), pages 328-334, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:6:y:2022:i:12:p:328-334
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-6-issue-12/328-334.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/virtual-library/papers/the-adoption-of-social-media-and-internet-as-a-tool-for-improving-smes-performance-in-sierra-leone-a-case-study-of-smes-in-freetown-central-business-district-cbd/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haradhan Kumar MOHAJAN, 2018. "Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 7(1), pages 23-48, March.
    2. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2010. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 59-68, January.
    3. Abdulaziz M. Abdulsaleh, 2016. "Factors Affecting Libyan SMEs’ Selection of Banks as Business Partners," Quarterly Journal of Business Studies, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 2(4), pages 201-210.
    4. Abdul Bashiru Jibril & Michael Adu Kwarteng & Miloslava Chovancova & Michal Pilik, 2019. "The impact of social media on consumer-brand loyalty: A mediating role of online based-brand community," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1673640-167, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emmanuel Bruce & Zhao Shurong & Sulemana Bankuoru Egala & John Amoah & Du Ying & Huang Rui & Tai Lyu, 2022. "Social Media Usage and SME Firms’ Sustainability: An Introspective Analysis from Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Chandan A. Chavadi & Monika Sirothiya & Sindhu R. Menon & Vishwanatha M R, 2023. "Modelling the Effects of Social Media–based Brand Communities on Brand Trust, Brand Equity and Consumer Response," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 48(2), pages 114-141, June.
    3. Schmidt, Christoph G. & Wuttke, David A. & Heese, H. Sebastian & Wagner, Stephan M., 2023. "Antecedents of public reactions to supply chain glitches," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    4. Mahan, Joseph E. & Seo, Won Jae & Jordan, Jeremy S. & Funk, Daniel, 2015. "Exploring the impact of social networking sites on running involvement, running behavior, and social life satisfaction," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 182-192.
    5. Molina, Arturo & Fernández, Alejandra C. & Gómez, Mar & Aranda, Evangelina, 2017. "Differences in the city branding of European capitals based on online vs. offline sources of information," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 28-39.
    6. Hassan Danaeefard & Ali Farazmand & Akram Dastyari, 2023. "The Iranian Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-9) Crisismanship: Understanding the Contributions of National Culture, Media, Technology and Economic System," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1661-1682, December.
    7. Richey, Michelle & Ravishankar, M.N., 2019. "The role of frames and cultural toolkits in establishing new connections for social media innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 325-333.
    8. Fathey Mohammed & Nabil Hasan Al-Kumaim & Ahmed Ibrahim Alzahrani & Yousef Fazea, 2023. "The Impact of Social Media Shared Health Content on Protective Behavior against COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    9. Drummond, Conor & O'Toole, Thomas & McGrath, Helen, 2022. "Social Media resourcing of an entrepreneurial firm network: Collaborative mobilisation processes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 171-187.
    10. Davide Giacomini & Paola Zola & Diego Paredi & Mario Mazzoleni, 2020. "Environmental disclosure and stakeholder engagement via social media: State of the art and potential in public utilities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1552-1564, July.
    11. repec:zib:zbmbmj:v:2:y:2023:i:2:p:114-123 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Domenico CONSOLI, 2017. "The Use of Social Media and E-Commerce: a Winning Strategy for Small Businesses," North Economic Review, Technical University of Cluj Napoca, Department of Economics and Physics, vol. 1(1), pages 109-119, October.
    13. Maximilian ROBU, 2013. "A New Classification Of Smes In The Digital Economy Context," SEA - Practical Application of Science, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 1, pages 150-155, June.
    14. Schejter, Amit M. & Tirosh, Noam, 2015. "“Seek the meek, seek the just”: Social media and social justice," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 796-803.
    15. Ma, Jie & Tse, Ying Kei & Wang, Xiaojun & Zhang, Minhao, 2019. "Examining customer perception and behaviour through social media research – An empirical study of the United Airlines overbooking crisis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 192-205.
    16. Martín-Rojas, Rodrigo & Garrido-Moreno, Aurora & García-Morales, Víctor J., 2023. "Social media use, corporate entrepreneurship and organizational resilience: A recipe for SMEs success in a post-Covid scenario," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    17. Daas, Piet J.H. & Puts, Marco J.H., 2014. "Social media sentiment and consumer confidence," Statistics Paper Series 5, European Central Bank.
    18. Stefano Di Lauro & Aizhan Tursunbayeva & Gilda Antonelli & Marcello Martinez, 2021. "Organizational and Corporate Identity on Social Media: A Literature Review," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(4), pages 1-53, July.
    19. Vasile-Daniel Păvăloaia & Elena-Mădălina Teodor & Doina Fotache & Magdalena Danileţ, 2019. "Opinion Mining on Social Media Data: Sentiment Analysis of User Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-21, August.
    20. Zhepeng Li & Xiao Fang & Xue Bai & Olivia R. Liu Sheng, 2017. "Utility-Based Link Recommendation for Online Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(6), pages 1938-1952, June.
    21. Ying Guo & Xiantao Xiao, 2022. "Author-level altmetrics for the evaluation of Chinese scholars," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(2), pages 973-990, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:6:y:2022:i:12:p:328-334. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.