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A role for startups in unleashing the disruptive power of social media

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  • Ghezzi, Antonio
  • Gastaldi, Luca
  • Lettieri, Emanuele
  • Martini, Antonella
  • Corso, Mariano

Abstract

As social media attract increasing attention from executives and find varied applications in different industries, research on the subject has been investigating the antecedents, moderators, mediators and outcomes of social media adoption, as well as impacts on the organizational and individual level. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the discussion of the new sources of social media innovation—i.e., the upstream originators of social media solutions. Such innovations of a possibly disruptive nature often originate from startups, which can constitute a significant driver for social media development and can influence the adopting incumbents’ behaviors. This study aims at shedding first light on social media-based solutions developed and delivered by startups. By surveying the Crunchbase database, we identified 724 funded social media startups, which were further classified into six categories, namely: (i) social network; (ii) social commerce; (iii) social recruitment; (iv) social management; (v) social loyalty and advocacy; (vi) contact management. Our findings show how the large majority of startups deliver social network solutions to incumbents, followed by social media management applications. The findings also shed light on emerging approaches to value generation and open innovation from social media related to and driven by startups.

Suggested Citation

  • Ghezzi, Antonio & Gastaldi, Luca & Lettieri, Emanuele & Martini, Antonella & Corso, Mariano, 2016. "A role for startups in unleashing the disruptive power of social media," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1152-1159.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ininma:v:36:y:2016:i:6:p:1152-1159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.04.007
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    1. Khanindra Ch. Das, 2023. "What Affects Startup Acquisition in Emerging Economy? Evidence from India," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 22(2), pages 111-134, June.
    2. Abhishek Behl & Pankaj Dutta & Zongwei Luo & Pratima Sheorey, 2022. "Enabling artificial intelligence on a donation-based crowdfunding platform: a theoretical approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 319(1), pages 761-789, December.
    3. Misirlis, Nikolaos & Vlachopoulou, Maro, 2018. "Social media metrics and analytics in marketing – S3M: A mapping literature review," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 270-276.
    4. Liu, Zhenyuan & Han, Shuihua & Li, Chao & Gupta, Shivam & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar, 2022. "Leveraging customer engagement to improve the operational efficiency of social commerce start-ups," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 572-582.

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