Social Media Exploration and Exploitation by Small and Medium Enterprises for Business Continuity

Abstract

This paper aims to examine social media usage by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the context of business continuity. A key concern for businesses in times of disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or hurricanes, is continuity. This is especially true for SMEs that lack the expertise, awareness, and ability to dedicate specific resources to disaster planning and management. SMEs are quick to explore social media for functions such as customer acquisition, perhaps due to greater flexibility and agility than large companies. However, SMEs are constrained by a lack of resources, limiting the extent to which they can exploit social media. The authors collect data from 68 SMEs and analyze the extent to which they explore and exploit social media tools. The findings suggest that the firms fail to exploit their social media presence to leverage long-term strategic benefits, which would be helpful during a disaster. The contribution includes ways to analyze social media exploration and exploitation and suggestions to strategically manage social media use for business continuity.