The role of social media marketing in organisational business development in the construction industry: Managerial perspectives

Tan, Jianwen

Abstract

The growth in social media use as a marketing tool continues to gain popularity among businesses in different sectors. Due to social media marketing, business-to-business relationships and the creation of networks in the market have proved to be attractive to the construction industry despite overreliance on the traditional marketing approaches. Despite its popularity, research regarding the social media marketing role in organisational business development is limited.

This thesis explored the perception of managers in the construction industry on the role of social media marketing in organisational business development. With a focus on three large construction companies in Singapore, given the need to obtain an in-depth understanding of the managerial perspectives on social media marketing, a qualitative interpretivist approach has been adopted. The study involved 12 respondents in senior positions in the construction industry who were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique and their responses analyzed using thematic analysis to answer the research questions.

The review of literature, as well as the analysis of the information obtained from respondents, resulted in invaluable insights that added to the body of knowledge in social media marketing in organisational business development. The reviewed literature resulted in the creation of a theoretical framework that informs the exploration of the social media marketing role in organisational business development. Further, the results of the study show that social media marketing plays an important role in organisational business development among construction firms. As part of the contribution of this study, a set of model guidelines has been developed that shows the approaches that marketers can use to enhance the positive influence of social media marketing in organisational business development. The influence of social media marketing on marketing functions and its positive performance outcomes are also key contributions to the organisational business development among construction firms. The study has recommended the need to improve resource commitments to enhance social media marketing as an important contributor to organisational business development among the construction firms, increase involvement in social media marketing, and improve reliance on multiple social media marketing platforms to enhance positive influence on organisational business development. The findings from this study can guide the use and tailoring of social media marketing in organisational business development within the construction industry.

Citation

Tan, J. The role of social media marketing in organisational business development in the construction industry: Managerial perspectives. (Thesis). Edinburgh Napier University. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2850788

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 4, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 4, 2022
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17869/enu.2022.2850788
• Keywords: social media, business development, manager, marketing, construction
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2850788
• Award Date: Jul 31, 2021