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Small Business Success and Social Capital:

A Multi-cultural Approach

Global Conference on Business and FinanceLas Vegas, January 2015

LILLIE M. HIBBLER-BRITT, MBA, PHDFIONA SUSSAN, MBA, PHD

CENTER FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS RESEARCHSCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

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Thank YouMercedes Jalbert and the Conference on Business and

Finance

Center for Global Business Research, School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix Jersey City Campus

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Abstract HighlightsThere has been significant work concerning CSF of small businesses

Work concerning social media as a marketing means for small businesses

Nothing investigating social media on small business success from a multicultural perspective

Quantitative study

Utilize small business owner and business demographics as they impact the use of social media

Determine if social media is perceived as a CSF

Whether small business owners utilize a strategic approach to using social media

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Study DescriptionStudy seeks to determine social media as a

critical success factor of minority businesses.

Advances the knowledge as it relates to the incorporation of social media as a critical success factor.

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Importance of the Study

Understand the use of social media among small businesses.

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Just Some Numbers5.68 million employees in the United States99.7% has less than 500 employees89.8% had less than 20 employeesSmall businesses produced 46% of private nonfarm GDP in 200814.3 million jobs were from small businesses in 2013

Source: Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council

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Importance of Topic

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Importance of Topic (continued)

Abandoned theatre in Camden NJ

Style: Heavyweight champion of the world Joe Walcott and his wife are snapped strolling down Camden's Main Street during one of Joe's leisure days in 1951

The Daily Mail,

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Previous ResearchCritical success factor theory (Rockart, 1978)

Factors critical to e-Market success (Johnson, 2013)

Barriers to adopting social media (Michaelidou, et al., 2011)

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Previous ResearchSocial media strategy (BDC Social Media Guide,

2014)Small business benefits of using social media

(Mershon, 2011)Entrepreneur success using online social

networking (Indrupati and Henari, 2012)

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Research Hypotheses H1A: Small business entrepreneurs do not use social media to grow their business and therefore it is not perceived as a critical success factor.

H2A: The use of social media by small business entrepreneurs vary based on cultural differences

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Research Hypotheses H3A: The education level of small business entrepreneurs does impact the use of social media as a business strategy.

H4A: The number of years that a company has been in business does affect the use of social media as a business strategy.

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Research Hypotheses H5A: The incorporation of a social media strategy is perceived by small business owners as being directly tied to business success.

H6A: The age of the small business owner does affect the use of social media as a critical success factor.

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Study Description This study seeks to determine the correlation between small business success and the use of various types of social media. Six variables will be analyzed

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Research Method Sample Population: Small Business Owners in NJ

Procedure: Survey Instrument developed and distributed via Survey Monkey

Four part questionnaire◦ Owner demographics◦ Business demographics◦ Likert scale on critical success factors◦ Business strategic use of social media

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Research Method Variables considered:

◦ Age◦ Education◦ Gender◦ Years in operation◦ Use of social media◦ Ethnicity

Work of Ross (2010) Variables impact whether entrepreneurs sought advice

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ResultsData currently being collected

Results pending

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Study BenefitsInform participants of the results. Results will help SMEs to structure a strategic social media plan.

Social media marketing “boot camp”.

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Questions

?

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References BDC (2012). Social Media a Guide for Entrepreneurs. E-Book published by Business Development Bank of Canada.

Bureau of labor Statistics (2014). Retrieved from www.bls.gov on July 24, 2014.

Indrupati, J. and Henari, T. (2012). Entrepreneurial success, using online social networking: evaluation. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 5(1), pp. 47-62.

Johnson, M. (2013). Critical success factors for B2B e-markets: a strategic fit perspective. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 31(4), pp 337-366.

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References Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N.T., and Christodoulides, C. (2011). Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands. Industrial Marketing Management, 40, 1153-1159.

Rockart, J. F. (1979). "Chief Executives Define Their Own Data Needs," Harvard Business Review, 57 (2), 81-93.

Social Media: A guide for entrepreneurs (2012). Published by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

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Contact Information

Dr. Lillie M. Hibbler-Britt 201-912-7342

Lillie.hibbler-britt@phoenix.edu