Social media integration: An opportunity for SMEs sustainability

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oabm20 Cogent Business & Management ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/oabm20 Social media integration: An opportunity for SMEs sustainability Emmanuel Bruce, Solomon Keelson, John Amoah & Sulemana Bankuoru Egala To cite this article: Emmanuel Bruce, Solomon Keelson, John Amoah & Sulemana Bankuoru Egala (2023) Social media integration: An opportunity for SMEs sustainability, Cogent Business & Management, 10:1, 2173859, DOI: 10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. Published online: 27 Feb 2023. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 287 View related articles View Crossmark data MARKETING | RESEARCH ARTICLE Social media integration: An opportunity for SMEs sustainability Emmanuel Bruce 1 , Solomon Keelson 2 , John Amoah 3 and Sulemana Bankuoru Egala 4 * Abstract: The changing trend in the circular economy has pushed most firms to be competitive in their business activities using emerging technology. SMEs in recent times are increasingly leveraging technologies such as social media to enhance their interactions with their customers, increase their reach and become competitive. Despite this, SMEs in the manufacturing sector in developing economies are often underexplored in literature in their resolve to leverage social media to improve their performance and sustainability. This research explores the integration of social media in SME manufacturing firms’ activities toward their performance and sustainability in developing countries. Drawing on relevant literature and the social media engagement theory, we employed a questionnaire survey to collect data from 417 managers/staff of SME manufacturing firms in Ghana, using PLS-SEM techniques for the analysis. Research findings revealed that social media integration proved a direct positive correlation with SME manufacturing firms’ performance. Additionally, it was revealed that social media utilization has a positive and significant effect on SME manufacturing firms’ performance. The findings further show that social media usage assists SME firms’ performance and fosters their sustainability. It is concluded that SMEs should incorporate social media marketing strategies for firms’-customer relationships and internal and external collaboration. By implication, this study offers practitioners and researchers knowledge regarding social media integration among SMEs in emerging economies. Subjects: Business, Management and Accounting; Industry & Industrial Studies; Information Technology Keywords: social media; integration; SMEs; firm sustainability; social media engagement theory PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT Scholars and practitioners in the field of digital marketing have recently become interested in the integration of social media. Even though social media also function as a digital entertainment platform and a channel for marketing communication. Once more, the impact of technology and the fierce competition among organizations in the modern era of marketing cannot be understated. The current study investigates how SMEs integrate social media into their business performance, and its impact on sustainability in emerging economies, particularly Ghana. The study’s findings should serve as a wake-up call to practitioners of current and new enterprises about the importance of integrating social media in the 21 st century for diverse purposes for medium to long-term business operations. The research not just to adds to the literature but also serves as a reminder to experts about the importance of developing countries integrating social media for digital marketing. Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 1 of 20 Received: 25 October 2022 Accepted: 24 January 2023 *Corresponding author: Sulemana Bankuoru Egala, Department of Informatics, Faculty of ICT, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa, UWR, Ghana E-mail: [email protected] Reviewing editor: Len Tiu Wright, De Montfort University Faculty of Business and Law, United Kingdom Additional information is available at the end of the article © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. 1. Introduction Internet advancements have impacted the activities and interactions of both businesses and society. For instance, the advent of the internet has enabled business processes and operations to engender operational excellence (Sohail et al., 2020). Again, e-commerce has also brought about boundless commercial activities creating new business opportunities and creating customer intimacy. Yet, the demand by customers keeps changing given the complex nature of consumer demands. Moreover, getting to know consumers’ preferences and behavior at a face value becomes a daunting task. As a remedy, several businesses are leveraging social media to aggregate consumers’ comments and tailor-made their products and services to meet the demands of the customers (Amoah et al., 2021). To respond to customer demand and stay competitive, businesses have adopted social media as a marketing tool for their customer intimacy (Boyd, 2007). Social media as described by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) is “a series of Internet-based applications that expand on the theoretical and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and allow the creation and sharing of content and ideas and exchange of user-generated content”. Since its emergence, several business enterprises have adopted social media as an effective marketing tool to conduct business activities (Jibril et al., 2019; Mason et al., 2021; Qalati et al., 2021). Kaplan and Heinlein (2010) evidenced that social media have been used by firms to manage relational activities. It also facilitates communication between companies and customers (firm-customer relationship). Undeniably, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have felt the impact of social media (Jussila et al., 2014), though very few SMEs have adopted and utilized this essential tool (Abed, 2020; Zamberi et al., 2019). In developing countries, SMEs are considered the mainstay of the economy (Amoah, 2018; Tiwary et al., 2021). According to Rauniar et al. (2014), SMEs play a key stimulant to strengthen the economy via job creation, social cohesion, source of income, and stability to a country’s economy. Consequently, providing a significant step in poverty reduction especially in developing countries (Kumar, 2017; Singh & Thakar, 2018). From the background of Oliveira and Martins (2011), globalization and trade liberalization have diverse effects on SME performance. Scholars have pointed out that SMEs are often enterprises with limited marketing and advertising resources (Maduku et al., 2016; Ur Rahman et al., 2020; Amoah, Jibril & Akram 2021). Prior studies have also indicated that SMEs are averse and prudent about technology adoption (McCann & Barlow, 2015). This limitation can be associated with technical capacities and financial constraints (Dahnil et al., 2014; Trawnih et al., 2021). In this regard, Bruce et al. (2022) suggested that SMEs must strive for new opportunities, continuously focusing on technological innovation. Therefore, incorporating innovation, mainly in social media marketing into SME business activities becomes pivotal in gaining competitive advantage and long-term business growth (Kumar & Ayedee, 2018; Tajudeen et al., 2018; Wamba & Carter, 2016). To compete and be sustainable, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) argued that social media provide platforms for SMEs to interact with customers and other potential investors (Ali Abbasi et al., 2022). Previous studies regarded social media as an essential ingredient of conducting business among SMEs in intense global competition and have resulted in significant benefits (Kang & Park, 2018; Taneja & Toombs, 2014; Chatterjee & Kumar Kar, 2020). In this regard, evidence has been found that very few SMEs have adopted and utilized social media to gain a competitive advantage, increased sales, and customer relationship, and improve business performance, which in turn lead to SMEs sustainability (Jibril et al., 2019; Jin & Hurd, 2018). Additionally, evidence suggests that social media usage creates benefits for SME customers leading to sustainability (Mason et al., 2021; Amoah et al., 2021). Scholars have described sustainability as well-balanced firms’ financial, environmental, technological, and social-economic resources (Garbie, 2014). For Kuhlman and Farrington (2010) sustainability refers to maintaining the welfare and well-being of firms within a specific period or indefinitely. Luthra et al. (2015) observed that SMEs can achieve sustainability through increased social media usage. Similarly, Raut et al. (2019) report that social media usage positively influences SMEs’ business sustainability. Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 2 of 20 Despite the compelling nature of social media, prior studies have focused on business-toconsumer (B2C) and larger enterprises’ integration of social media for business performance and growth (Rapp et al., 2013; Abuhashesh, 2014; Barczyk & Duncan, 2012). However, limited research studies have been conducted on the integration of digital marketing communication tools, particularly, social media on firms’ sustainability in the context of SMEs (Dutot & Bergeron, 2016; Kumar et al., 2017; De Vries et al., 2017). For instance, Fraccastoro et al. (2021) evidenced that integration of social media allows SMEs to engage international prospects and proposed that SMEs should embrace social media marketing as a holistic marketing strategy in their business operations. Similarly, Brink (2017) submits that incorporating social media into SME activities leads to sustainability. Olayah (2019) further evidenced the use of social media for SMEs, since it has become a valuable information tool for achieving organizational effectiveness and called for future studies to explore how social media can be integrated into SMEs’ business operations for sustainability from emerging countries’ perspective. Moreover, the integration of social media into SME’s sustainability remains under-explored in the context of developing countries (Ogwu et al., 2022; Rakshit et al., 2021). To fill this research gap, the current study investigates how SMEs integrate social media into their business performance, and its impact on sustainability in emerging economies, particularly Ghana. This study attempts to advance the current knowledge of social media applications integration and SMEs’ sustainability, especially from emerging economies perspective. Moreover, the study would have strong implications for both managers and policymakers aiming to improve SMEs’ sustainability. The rest of the paper is arranged as follows: literature review, methodology, findings/results, discussions, and conclusion. 2. Literature review and hypotheses development 2.1. Social media engagement theory (SMET) Social media channels encourage users to increase their number of followers and prospective customers (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). In this context, customer engagement research has bolstered the social engagement theory applicable to boosting the performance of businesses (Oliveira et al., 2020). SMET theory holds that social media applications enable organizations to communicate with customers and meet organizational goals. According to Prahalad & Ramaswamy, (2004), technology plays a crucial role in generating the underlying platform required to facilitate social interactions between geographically and temporally dispersed users. The rise of social media is due in large part to the evolution of technology to provide a unique user experience that enables users to connect in previously impossible ways. This study applies the definition of experience as the content of direct observation or participation in an event to the user experience under consideration. According to the tenet of the SMET, social interactions shape the user experience by fostering a personalized relationship between users, providing a transparent means of communication, providing access to social resources such as friends, acquaintances, and family members, and defining the potential benefits and costs of engaging in social media (Gangi & Wasko, 2016). Leveraging the SMET, Grover and Kar (2020) examined how service advertisement and promotional tweets on Twitter enable businesses’ profitability. The study proffers that, content type, type, and time of marketing campaigns help build a strong brand. de Oliveira et al. (2020) aver that customer engagement has a significant value for businesses, having a direct impact on firm performance, behavioral intention, and word-of-mouth. Furthering this, Cao et al. (2021) add that, hedonic consumption produces nearly three times greater customer engagement to firm performance effects than utilitarian consumption. In effect, a significant effect is actualized by utilizing social media with substantial effects on the engagement behaviors of consumers. Dwivedi et al. (2021) reinforce that, B2B companies have a lot to benefit from integrating social media in their marketing strategies adding that, social media has a positive effect on customer satisfaction, acquisition of new customers, sales, stakeholder engagement, and fostering customer relationships. Moreover, the sustainability of companies positively correlates with the use of social media through a successful transformation of constant customer engagement. From the forgone, we Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 3 of 20 argue that customer engagement as an intrinsic motivation or a psychological state plays a direct role in the performance and sustainability of companies. Moreover, customer activities, such as transactions, are required, as are perhaps social media behaviors that elaborate on brand-related social media content as a form of advertising. 2.2. Social media According to Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media has become an effective business platform upon which individuals share information and build networks. Peters et al. (2013) identified social media as “dynamic, interconnected, egalitarian, and interactive organisms”. Consequently, these social media’s distinctive features have brought a significant shift in the current market situation (Li et al., 2020). The dynamic nature of social media applications has generated different cyberspace for sharing information and sentiment (Jibril et al., 2019; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). For instance, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, WeChat, and Instagram are among the well-known social network platforms (Al-Emran, 2015). Muller and Peres (2019) observed that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat, WhatsApp, and YouTube have facilitated social interactions which have measurable value for organizations. Principally, social media are considered an innovative marketing tool that stimulates client participation and interaction in the context of marketing (Bai & Yan, 2021; Guha et al., 2018). Thus, social media is seen as evolving way of conducting business, empowering firms to create a mutual relationship with customers and stakeholders (Ali Qalati et al., 2020; AL-Mashrafi & Khan, 2022; Li et al., 2020). Prior studies have acknowledged the significance of social media in consumer buying decisions (Katona et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2011; Nair et al., 2010). Gnizy (2019) observed that social media is a new strategic tool for generating new ideas, customer analysis, and market research. In this context, social media as a new technological tool has become more significant for SME sustainable performance (Basri & Siam, 2019; Harmeling et al., 2017). With the increasing benefit of social media, firms can use social media to assist intra and inter-organizational activities; such as collaborative learning (Ansari & Khan, 2020; Knowles & Cooner, 2016); knowledge sharing (Y. A. Ahmed et al., 2019; Oostervink et al., 2016), brand management strategies (Bilro et al., 2022; Moro & Rita, 2018; Sadh, 2019); and collaborative product development (Piller et al., 2012; Yenicioglu & Suerdem, 2015). A recent study by Sompolgrunk et al., (2022) proved that social media usage has a positive effect on SME business performance. 2.3. Social media usage and SMEs firm performance The study’s findings have highlighted the significant impact of social media usage on SME performance in emerging economies (Amoah et al., 2021; Ogilvie et al., 2018; Borah et al., 2022; Eze et al., 2021). A study conducted by Bakar and Zaini (2022) evidenced that social media is an essential innovative tool for achieving SMEs sustainability. A paper published by Basri and Siam (2019) reports that the effectiveness of social media allows SMEs to convey information to customers, and engage them, which leads to better customer relationship management. Particularly, Borah et al. (2022) explain that SMEs receive feedback from customers through social media, which positively influences business communication and performance. Furthermore, Casaló et al. (2021) concluded that social media usage has a strong and positive effect on SME performance. Ali Qalati et al. (2020) examined the adoption of social media and its impact on SMEs’ performance. Their findings revealed a positive significant relationship between social media usage and SME business growth. In addition, Amoah et al. (2021) evidenced a positive relationship between social media usage and SME productivity. Similarly, Öztamur and Karakadılar (2014) study on social media’s role in SME performance reported a positive influence of social media usage on SMEs performance. Besides, the findings of Dutot and Bergeron (2016) maintained that social media usage has a positive correlation with SMEs’ performance in competitive advantage, effective internal communication, and customer relationship management. Moreover, Qalati et al. (2022) recently observed a significant influence of social media usage on SME performance. We argue that SMEs must utilize social media to facilitate customer service, and create value, which is crucial for a firm’s sustainability. The authors proposed that social media should be assessed Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 4 of 20 extensively, emphasizing social media platforms as a tool for achieving SMEs’ sustainability. Accordingly, we hypothesized that: H1: Social media usage directly and positively relates to SME firms’ Performance. 2.4. Integrating social media into SME’s Firm performance A study conducted by Bashir et al. (2017) advanced an integrated framework of social media for SMEs’ development. The study further submits that SMEs should incorporate comprehensive social media marketing into their overall marketing objectives for sustainability (Du et al., 2016; Deborah et al., 2017). Previously, several studies have shown a significant connection between social media integration and SME performance in emerging economies (Amoah et al., 2021; Atanassova & Clark, 2015; Hitchen et al., 2017). Cheng et al. (2018) observed that SMEs adopt social media because of its effectiveness and visibility. Azemi and Ozuem (2015) advocated that competing in current globalization drives SMEs’ adoption of technology, particularly social media. A similar study on the integrated usage of social media reported a significant influence of social media integration on SME performance through increased sales and customer satisfaction (Khan et al., 2019). Wardati and Mahendrawathi (2019) also indicated that social media integration increases SMEs’ visibility to the target audience, hence increasing sales. Moreover, Rakshit et al. (2021) examined social media integration on SME new product development and concluded that social media integration enables SMEs to focus more on customers. In the context of SME manufacturing firms, A. Ahmed et al. (2022) studied how social media integration affects emerging manufacturing SMEs. Utilizing data from emerging market manufacturing SMEs, the study found a positive connection between social media and SMEs’ sustainability. However, integrating social media is affected by technological, environmental, and organizational factors (Effendi et al., 2020; Nguyen et al., 2021; Qalati et al., 2022). Other studies have proven that social media integration in SME manufacturing firms’ operations has resulted in identifying new market opportunities, increased brand awareness, and increased market share (Bruce et al., 2022). Therefore, this study argues that incorporating social media by SMEs into their business operations can contribute positively to business performance and sustainability. Hence, we hypothesize that: H2: Integrating social media into SME manufacturing firms will positively affect their Performance. 2.5. Social media usage and firms’ sustainability Nowadays, firms are increasingly adopting and integrating social media to connect with stakeholders and share valuable information to be competitive (Benitez et al., 2020; Salim et al., 2020). Njiku and Nyamsogoro (2019) define sustainability as “the firm’s ability to achieve its goals and maintain consistency over a long period”. From a SMEs perspective, sustainability is comprised of accomplishing a balance between social, economic, and financial resources (Ur Rahman et al., 2020). According to Vesal et al. (2020), sustainability is one of the essential criteria for attracting customers and stakeholders. By integrating social media usage into corporate marketing strategies, firms can foster good relationships with sustainability-oriented customers. Recent studies have shown that firms’ sustainability can be attained via social media usage due to its interactive nature (Amoah et al., 2021; Hu et al., 2019; Jha & Verma, 2022; Mason et al., 2021). The published research also indicated the positive link between social media usage and SME sustainability (Bruce et al., 2022; Borah et al., 2022; Dressler & Paunovic, 2021). Salim et al. (2020) for instance, evidenced that effective utilization of social media positively affects SME sustainability. According to the works of (Purwanto et al., 2022; Russo et al., 2021), SMEs used social media as a valuable resource to interact with customers and other potential investors on their sustainability initiatives and environmental goals. Thus, social media enable SMEs to manage profitable customers, thereby increasing customer-based profit performance (Ur Rahman et al., 2020; Lu et al., 2009). Additionally, Baird and Parasnis (2011) reported that social media improves SMEs’ financial Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 5 of 20 performance, and reduces internal operations, decision-making efficiency, and innovative business processes, which in turn leads to sustainable performance. Based on the literature, this study argued that social media play a significant role in SME sustainability, Therefore, we proposed that: H3: Social Media Usage has a positive effect on SME firms’ sustainability. 2.6. Relationship between social media usage and SMEs manufacturing firms performance The manufacturing sector is the sector with high social media usage (Jukić & Merlak, 2017; Parveen et al., 2015; Uyar & Boyar, 2015). Social media plays a significant role in empowering firms to achieve effectiveness (Ayokunmi et al., 2022; Hartono & Sheng, 2016). In this context, manufacturing firms can utilize social media to achieve organizational success; for instance, social media usage contributes to firm sustainable performance (Abbas et al., 2019; Jibril et al., 2019; Korcsmáros & Csinger, 2022; Rialp-Criado & Rialp-Criado, 2018). Therefore, it is crucial to explore the association between social media and SME manufacturing firms’ performance (Wang et al., 2016; Foltean et al. 2019). According to Braojos-Gomez et al. (2015), social media must be a fundamental part of an organization’s strategy due to its innovativeness, which ultimately leads to improved business performance. Previously conducted research works have examined the social media usage relationship with manufacturing firms’ performance (Si, 2015; Allan & Nimer Ali, 2017; Mishra, 2016; Syaifullah et al., 2020). Hassani and Mosconi (2022) reports that SME manufacturing firms share information and ideas on social media platforms. Accordingly, an empirical investigation by Arcuri (2021) concluded that social media positively affect SME manufacturing firms’ performance in the context of developing countries. Braojos-Gomez et al. (2015) used 100 small U.S. firms from the 2013 Forbes America’s Best Small Companies ranking and reported that social media capabilities enable manufacturing firms to achieve sustainability. A study conducted by Cabiddu et al. (2014) findings indicated that social media have positive effects on SME manufacturing performance. Furthermore, Syaifullah et al. (2021) confirmed a positive relationship between social media usage and SME manufacturing firms’ performance. Salim et al. (2020) sampled 211 manufacturing firms and found that social media usage has a significant influence on SME performance in the context of Malaysia. In addition, Lam et al. (2016) study on social media usage on manufacturing performance and reported that social media utilization assists organizational information flow and knowledge sharing. The author’s findings further submit that social media positively affect SME manufacturing firms’-customer interaction and internal and external collaboration. However, an empirical study by Mishra (2016) found an insignificant effect of social media utilization on the performance of SMEs in the context of India. The study further proposed the incorporation of social media marketing in SME manufacturing firms’ activities for effectiveness and flexibility. Recently, several studies have evidenced a positive relationship between social media usage and SMEs manufacturing firms’ performance (CepedaCarrion et al., 2022; Gaglio et al., 2022; Jha & Verma, 2022; Opara & Onye-Chinedu, 2022) which ultimately affect firms’ sustainability. Thus, we argue that social media usage has a direct link to SME performance: H4: Social Media Usage relates positively to SMEs Manufacturing Firms Performance 3. Methodological approach 3.1. Sample, data collection, and analytic techniques The research employed non-random sampling techniques, specifically snowball sampling. This method of sampling is employed when the researcher selects the sample’s participants. To begin, the study objective was to assess the relationship between social media, firm performance, and firm sustainability of SMEs in Ghana’s manufacturing industry. The purposive and snowball sampling techniques were adopted in choosing the targeted respondents from five Ghanaian Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 6 of 20 regions particularly: Greater, Central, Ashanti, Western and Eastern respectively. These types of sampling are deployed when it is critical in choosing participants who have a thorough understanding of the subject given the study’s focus on social media usage and a firm’s performance. Using good judgment, scientists believe they can gather a representative sample while also saving time and money as revealed (AlBuraiki & Khan, 2018; Black, 2019; Etikan et al., 2016). The questionnaire was administered to both employees and managerial staff of the selected SMEs in the manufacturing sector. The selection of the manufacturing sector for data collection is a result of its contribution to the growth of the economy (Gusmerotti et al., 2019). The snowball method was used to help reach a target number of social media network participants. In this case, participants may recommend others to participate in the current survey. The structured questionnaire was divided into two sections. Section A of the questionnaire contains the demographics of the respondents whiles the second part contains questions on the study constructs. Data collection was done with caution due to Covid-19 protocols. The data collection process used both hard copy and soft copy questionnaires at the same time. The hard copy questionnaire was distributed to the premises of the selected SMEs in the manufacturing via intercept, while the soft copy (link) was distributed to participants upon request. A pilot study was conducted with 35 SME firms who are using the technology (social media users) before the main data collection to clarify the variables (or constructs) under study. Regardless, Cronbach alpha values were used to assess the reliability and validity of the selected constructs. The main data collection took four months on average (May-August 2022). After invalid replies were eliminated from the data set due to anomalies such as duplication, empty fields, incomplete assessments, and overly ambitious evaluations (Elgabry, 2019), 417 legitimate responses remained, representing 81.76 percent of the total 510 responses. The final data set’s characteristics of the respondents are shown in Table 1, (see Appendix B for the article questionnaire and measurement). In terms of data analytics, the conceptual framework and accompanying hypotheses were tested using the PLS-SEM (Partial least squares and structural equation modeling) technique. This was made possible by utilizing the ADANCO software version 2.2.1. (Henseler, 2017). SPSS software was used for the descriptive statistics. The researchers advised the respondents not to provide any specifics. As revealed by Amoah et al. (2021), this is to ensure a high ethical standard of research. According to a preliminary finding from the profiles of the respondents, there were more male respondents to the poll (85.5 percent) than that female (19.5 percent) respondents. Again, in terms of the age range, most participants (44.7%) are under the age of twenty-six to thirty-five, indicating that most of them are undergraduate students (bachelor’s). 3.2. Measurement of the constructs and test of common method variance (CMV) In determining the constructs’ validity, the researchers drew on previous research. Sustainability (Amoah et al., 2021, Patma et al., 2021), firms’ performance (de Oliveira et al., 2020; Tarsakoo & Charoensukmongkol, 2019), social media integration (Abuhashesh, 2014; Javaeed et al., 2020; Killian & McManus, 2015), and the predictor construct social media usage (Perrin, 2015; Tajudeen et al., 2018; Praveen et al., 2015) were thus used as study constructs. The study constructs were measured using a five-point Likert scale (Completely Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Neutral (3), Agree (4), and Completely Agree (5) as used in current works like (Allen & Seaman, 2007; Derrick & White, 2017). Since the data for the current study were collected independently, the likelihood of common method variance is relatively high. In addition, the study’s participants were guaranteed that their information would be kept private and advised that there was no right or incorrect response to any of the survey’s questions. According to the findings of Bagozzi, (1998), the presence of Common Method Bias (CMB) was discovered, prompting the researchers to design the questionnaire with the description on the title page and to treat respondents or participants with the utmost confidence. To identify the presence of Common Method Bias, the researchers first conducted a multicollinearity test involving the VIF (variance inflation factor) (CMV). According to the findings of the post-hoc analysis, CMV only exists to a very limited extent based on VIFs where the thresholds are fewer than ten (10) as shown (see, Kock & Hadaya, 2018; Podsakoff et al., 2003; Salmerón et al., Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 7 of 20 2020). Finally, the CMB issues in this survey are regarded as minor, so the CMB is of less concern. 4. Model measurement The Dijkstra-Henseler rho and Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to rigorously assess the constructs’ reliability and validity because the PLS-SEM application literature of scholarly works (Hair et al., 2017, 2019) served as the researchers’ motivation. Because the coefficient values are all greater than 0.5 (see, Table 2 below), it indicates that the constructs have the strongest coefficients as defined by (Bagozzi, 1998; Hair et al., 2019). The ADANCO 2.0 version was used to assess the psychometric properties of the underlying items of the research constructs. Again, the Table 1. Profile of Respondents’ Information Details Frequency Percentage (%) Gender Male 336 80.50 Female 81 19.50 Age 18–25 years 33 7.90 26–35 years 186 44.70 36–45 years 142 33.90 45–55 years 35 8.5 Above 55 years 21 5.00 Educational Level SSSCE 67 16.10 Diploma/HND/Bachelor 121 28.90 Masters/Post Graduate Diploma 164 39.40 Others 65 15.60 Organizational Size Medium 1–10 employees 63 15.00 Small (11–50 employees) 125 30.00 Medium (51–100 employees) 152 36.50 Large (100 above) 77 18.50 Company Websites Yes 323 77.40 No 94 22.60 SM Platforms Used Facebook 150 35.80 Twitter 46 11.10 Instagram 102 24.50 LinkedIn 56 13.50 All the above 63 15.10 How often SM platforms are used Daily 184 44.00 Once a week 87 20.90 More than a week 88 21.20 Once a month 58 13.90 SM Platforms Used Facebook 124 29.60 Twitter 32 7.70 Instagram 40 9.70 LinkedIn 32 7.60 All the above 189 45.40 Sample Size Used 417 100 Source: Field data (May-August 2022), retrieved from google form and hard copy Bruce et al., Cogent Business & Management (2023), 10: 2173859 https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173859 Page 8 of 20 affects SMEs’ sustainability agendas, future research might compare and analyze data from SMEs in separate sectors, in addition to the manufacturing sector, which was the study’s exclusive focus. Acknowledgements This work is supported by Tomas Bata University in Zlin through; IGA/FaME/2021/005. Significant factors in the sustainability of economic growth with a focus on the SME segment. Funding The authors received no direct funding for this research. Author details Emmanuel Bruce 1 Solomon Keelson 2 John Amoah 3 Sulemana Bankuoru Egala 4 E-mail: [email protected] ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1070-5480 1 School of Management and Economics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Zlin, China. 2 Takoradi Technical University, Department of Marketing and Strategy, Takoradi, Ghana. 3 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Mostni, Czech Republic. 4 Department of Informatics, Faculty of ICT, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). 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