Social Networks Contribution to Organizational International Marketing Strategies - Research Proposal Example

Title “The emergence of on-line social networks and their contribution to organizational international marketing strategies”. Introduction On-line marketing has been experiencing rapid growth during the last decade, where the technological advancements and the expansion of internet applications have dominated current practices on the part of both consumers and organizations (Chaffey et al., 2009). Especially the last years the emergence of internet social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, have prompted a new era in strategic marketing that offers great potentials for further expansion regarding particular international marketing tools and tactics. The prospects for expanding marketing strategies have significantly been widened mainly due to the fact that internet social networks eventually constitute important consumer networks as well (Hill et al., 2006). In the onset of constantly growing social networks via the net, organizations throughout the world are challenged by the increased potentials to access wider pools of customers or customer bases and gradually leverage opportunities that are offered by the people’s networking. The study upon the benefits that are attached to marketing strategies of organizations through social networks (Facebook etc) has become an imperative as these predominantly dictate current marketing practices. Abstract and Key Words On - line social networks have emerged into significant tools at the disposal of international corporations as means of expanding marketing strategies and strengthening brand image and customer loyalty. The rapid expansion of on - line social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, have eventually created a new era in the marketing discipline and paradigm. International organizations are faced with numerous opportunities in exploiting and leveraging on-line social networks in order to increase their prospects for reaching international consumers and generally accomplishing to gain access to wide pools of customers. This project deals with the estimation of the benefits that are attached to marketing strategies focusing on on – line social networks especially in the area of international business conducts. Undertaking a case study approach to firms that have established presence in such networks, the project eventually aims at exploring the mechanisms and the processes that underline marketing strategies on line as well as the advantages that are gained by those firms. The qualitative approach to the research method (through interviews) further adds depth and scope to the investigation of the opportunities offered by on – line social networks especially on the part of corporations themselves. Key Words: on – line social networks, internet marketing, brand recognition, customer loyalty Background The roots for the current proposed project are to be found in the enthusiasm of the author to explore and investigate the contribution of internet social networks to the overall marketing strategies of international organizations. It is widely accepted that international corporations need to strategically design and implement marketing strategies especially when it comes to foreign markets in their attempt to reach foreign consumers. The rapid growth of internet social networks, which eventually eliminate geographical and distance barriers on the one hand, and at the same time they simulate customer segments, has been reportedly provided a number of opportunities to international organizations regarding their marketing strategies expansion (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2008). Therefore, exploring and identifying the ways in which the marketing discipline is further enhanced by the internet as a medium and especially by the social networks developed through the internet becomes the central element in the proposed project. Aims and Objectives According to Chaffey et al. (2009) the Internet has generally changed the traditional and already existing marketing models that are designed, developed and implemented by firms on a global basis. They argue that this change has occurred within the last ten years, but they highlight that further change has been eventually triggered by the introduction and development of internet social networks. On the basis of this argument, the current proposed project ultimately aims at investigating and indicating the ways in which social networks can contribute to more holistic marketing strategies of international corporations and the ways in which these corporations can gain benefits in expanding their marketing strategies through these social networks. The particular objectives that the researcher will address in the proposed study are: to develop a conceptual framework that places the internet social networks in the heart of new (current) marketing strategies on the international level to identify how international firms benefit from developing marketing strategies promoted through social networks (such as Facebook, MySpace etc) to explain how marketing strategies in on-line social networks strengthen brand image and increase customer loyalty. Research Questions The above discussed objectives are going to formulate the basis for addressing the study’s research questions. Therefore by delivering the aims of the project, the questions that will be eventually answered are: a. How can on – line social networks contribute to consistent and effective marketing strategies for international organizations? b. What are the benefits that are gained by international organizations that establish presence in on – line social networks? In addressing these questions, the researcher will adopt the Interpretive Research philosophy (interpretive approach) which as defined by Saunders et al. (2009) is predominantly concerned with understanding and explaining why certain social or business situations (problems) emerge and attempts to generate an initial and not a generalized overview of the subject in account. Interpretive studies make use of qualitative methods and qualitative data mainly because the researchers are more oriented towards investigating specific phenomena on the basis of human perception and human interpretation (Bryman and Bell, 2007). Given the fact that the author needs to understand the ways in which internet social networks have been pervasive in current marketing strategies of international firms, as well as the ways in which marketing strategies are expanded by such social networks, it is evident that the Interpretive approach fits more strategically the purpose of the study. Literature Review There is a growing literature body (books, journals and articles) that focuses on the importance of internet in the new era of marketing disciplines. In addition to that there are various literature sources that place emphasis on the social networks (Facebook etc) and their increased contribution to effective marketing leverages on the part of organizations (Chaffey et al., 2009) Social Networks have actually become a relatively recent trend in the world of internet technology. Anagnostopoulos et al. (2008) state that during the last years there has been a shift in creating platforms for connecting people throughout the world on the basis of information sharing, socialization, and memberships in social networks which have no physical or substantial nature. As more and more individuals on a global scale engage into social networking, organizations need to be reflective over this trend and eventually adopt and employ practices that can address to this new situation. According to Boyd and Ellison (2007) on – line social networking has presented remarkable opportunities to firms in their attempt to leverage new communication paradigms and new marketing frameworks. Medows - Klue (2009) similarly argues that social networks have strong implications over the effective marketing strategies communicated and implemented by international corporations. Chaffey et al. (2009) suggests that especially in Business to Consumer (B2C) markets the on-line social networks, such as Facebook, have offered increased branding and communication opportunities to organizations. The presence of corporations in on – line networks increases visibility, awareness, acceptability and brand recognition. This eventually enhances brand performance and offers comparative benefits to firms that need to establish strong brand image. In that extend, on – line social networks function as information sharing contexts in which firms can communicate messages and increase their brands’ reputation; developing a page in which certain messages are disclosed, people can post information on the wall, members can become fans, and individuals can visit and revisit profiles (for example Facebook profiles). Hill et al. (2006) argue that on – line social networks promote customer involvement and customer loyalty in the long run as they influence people’s perceptions through the images projected, the messages communicated. In addition to that they increase popularity of a brand especially in cases of high popularity amongst the members of each respective social network. Hartline et al. (2008) further stress that the social networks constitute a rather efficient marketing and communication strategy for organizations and that is why it has become typical that the global brands (such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Lay’s etc) have construed presence in those networks and enjoy literally thousands of members and fans. Chaffey et al. (2009) expand the view of enhanced marketing strategies by explaining that the internet on the basis of on – line social networks promotes relationship marketing. They claim that organizations (international organizations predominantly) manage to build consistent and long – term relationships with prospective customers by interacting with them through the networks that constitute social groups over the internet. This is also credited by Hartline et al. (2008) who suggest that relationship marketing has emerged into a significant tool at the disposal of corporations even though in the case of on – line social networking, relationships are based on non – physical presence of neither the organization nor the customer. Methodology-Research Design This section of the current proposal outlines and briefly discusses the particular methods that the researcher will employ in order to implement the study and reach to particular conclusions or results. As already explained in a previous section (Research Questions) the author will adopt an Interpretive stance over the research project. The Interpretive paradigm highlights the orientation of the researcher to address questions of ‘why’ instead of being concerned with simply describing certain phenomena (Saunders et al., 2009; Sekaran, 2006). For this reason, the use of qualitative research is more appropriate for serving the aims and objectives of the entire project. According to Bryman and Bell (2007) qualitative research studies are characterized by their intention to leverage information that is not quantifiable and cannot be measured on the basis of statistics. Saunders et al. (2009) further explain that qualitative data collection is employed when the nature of the project is explanatory in the sense that it seeks to understand mechanisms, processes and functions that relate to a particular subject. The qualitative data are going to offer comparative advantages to the researcher’s attempt to understand the importance of on – line social networks in the overall marketing strategies of international firms. Qualitative data are going to be collected on the basis of the case study research strategy. According to Sekaran (2006) case studies are investigations that pertain to the exploration of a particular subject within the real life settings and business contexts. For this reason, the researcher will select three organizations (international firms) that have established presence in on – line social networks (Facebook or Twitter) and will investigate the benefits of such marketing practices within these environments. From each of these three organizations, two individuals (involved in the marketing departments) are going to be included in the sample (that is a total of six participants). The case study will be implemented through semi – structured interviews which will be developed around the objectives and the aims of the research project. One possible limitation of the research design is the data access method. However as Sekaran (2006) suggests the convenience sampling or the use of personal networks and social relationships can be leveraged in order to gain access to the information required. In that extend, the researcher will employ that strategy and will eventually develop the study on the basis of relationships with the ‘gatekeepers’ of the organizations. Ethical Issues The proposed research study does not involve the disclosure of any important or classified information and does not involve the discussion of sensitive issues and subjects. However, ethics need to be ensured on the part of the researcher. It is important to understand the reasons for the research study and commit to delivering the objectives, rather than serving the convenience of the results. For this reason, the researcher will engage to the project and will maintain as much as objectivity, reliability and credibility as possible in order to deliver accurate outcomes. However, as the study relates to the participation of people, the researcher will ensure anonymity and confidentiality to the respondents as well. Proposed Timetable November 2009 Preparation of the Research Proposal December 2009 Review of Relevant Literature and Preparation of the Chapter January 2010 Conduction of Interviews and analysis of the data February 2010 Preparation of the Methodology chapter and Research findings chapter March 2010 Completion of the Dissertation References Anagnostopoulos, A., Kumar, R. and Mahdian, M. (2008). Influence and Correlation in Social Networks. International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, pp. 7-15. Available at: http://list.cs.brown.edu/people/aris/pubs/influence.pdf [Accessed: November 17 2009] Boyd, D.M. and Ellison, N.B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), pp. 210-230 Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., Mayer, R. and Johnston, K. (2009). Internet Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. Fourth Edition. Essex: Pearson Education, Ltd. Hartline, J., Mirrokni, V.S. and Sundararajan, M. (2008). Optimal Marketing Strategies over Social Networks. WWW 2008, April 21–25, Beijing, China., pp. 189 - 198 Hill, S., Provost, F. and Volinksy, C. (2006). Network-Based Marketing: Identifying Likely Adopters via Consumer Networks. Statistical Science. 21(2), pp. 256–276 Medows – Klue, D. (2008). Relationship marketing for the Facebook generation. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practices, 5(3), pp. 243-250 Saunders, M., Lewis, F. and Thornhill, A. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. Fifth Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Sekaran, U. (2006). Research Methods for Business. A Skill Building Approach. Fourth Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Read More