The Impact of Social Media Marketing Adoption on Business Development (The Case of Creative Industries in Jordan)
Ahmed A. Al-Qatamin, Alaa Faisal
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This study aimed to investigate the impact of Social Media Marketing adoption on business development (the case of Creative Industries in Jordan). The research problem was identified after interviews were conducted with experts representative of the population. From this the hypotheses were developed which aimed to determine the impact of the current Social Media Marketing utilization, readiness of adoption and actual application of social media marketing for business development in the Creative Industries in Jordan. A questionnaire was developed and distributed through internet links and while visiting community areas like Zinc, where 110 responses were collected. The population specifically represented the Jordanian Creative Industries such as designers, photographers, etc and were either individual or small to medium enterprise business practitioners. Results indicated that the adoption of Social Media for Marketing had a significant impact on the business development of the Creative Industries in Jordan. The innovative characteristics of the research population also provided for a meaningful difference in adoption readiness when compared to similar studies where business practitioners from the general business sector were used. This research contributed by describing the status of Social Media adoption readiness among a unique research population, namely from the CI’s sector in Jordan and added to the limited literature closet regarding the topic.
Human Resource Management Strategies and Employee Turnover in Local Ngos in Kenya: A Survey of Wash Sector Ngos in Western Kenya
Mark Okinyi Oyoo
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This study used experimental study design and quantitative analysis to assess WASH sector NGOs in western Kenya to determine the impact of human resource management strategies on employee turnover. The survey targeted members of the Western WASH NGO’s management positions, so the population covered by the survey was 102 management positions. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. Both descriptive and inference statistics were used in the study. The paid salary did not correspond to the work and made the employee feel entirely grateful for his work and dedication. This work does not fully utilize the skills and abilities of employees and does not bring satisfaction or satisfaction to employees. Employees do not have all the resources and equipment they need to get the job done correctly. There was a lack of knowledge and information sharing throughout the organization. Seminars and workshops were not used regularly to improve the skills of employees within the organization. Job shadowing was never used to require skills to grow into a particular career path, nor was it used to help employees become accustomed to different career options. Contracts within the organization were inflexible to allow the organization to respond to fluctuations in demand. The study recommended paying employers an excellent salary to avoid exposing workers to financial constraints and at the same time to reward them for non-compliance with their obligations. Employers need to look for suitable leaders who value their employees’ contributions and actively emphasize their improvements. Professional training, coaching, and mentoring is required to increase career opportunities within the organization. Organizations need to increase open-ended contracts rather than fixed-term contracts and explain employee behavior at the end of the contract.
Exploring the Nexus between Packaging, Quality, Equity and Loyalty in Drug Industry
Peter Kwasi Oppong (PhD), Paul Hammond, Edmond Amissah
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This paper aimed to examine the mediation effects of perceived quality and brand equity on the relationship between packaging and loyalty in the drug industry. The data for this paper were collected from a sample of 348 customers using a systematic sampling technique in the drug market. The study`s hypotheses were statistically examined via structural equation modelling with aid of smart PLS version 3.3.3. Findings from this paper show that brand equity fully mediates the impact of packaging on loyalty, and also partially mediated the path between perceived quality and loyalty. Not only this but the research also found that perceived quality completely mediates the relationship between packaging and loyalty, and also partially mediated the impact of packaging on brand equity. This paper, therefore, confirmed that perceived quality and brand equity play a significant role in designing packaging to increase brand loyalty in the drug industry.
Investigating Social Media Marketing’s Influence on Sales Growth for Small to Medium Enterprises
Steven Mohler
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Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) create jobs, innovations, and products and services for the growth of developing and developed economies. However, more than 50% of the SMEs in the United States will not be in business within six years of starting. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to assess if and to what extent social media marketing as defined by Facebook, Twitter, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) posts predicts sales growth at small to medium enterprises. The study utilized a convenience sample of SMEs employing between 1 and 50 employees in three Midwestern United States. Self-reported sales data was collected from 54 SMEs using a SurveyMonkey® survey. The data obtained from the 54 business to consumer SMEs in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio produced no significant results when processed through SPSS multiple regression and Spearman correlation analyses. All three predictor variables, FGC Facebook posts, FGC Twitter posts, and eWOM posts, failed to provide any significant prediction of the criterion variable, firm sales growth. The small sample size of 54 produced power below .16 increasing the risk of a type II error, failing to reject a false null hypothesis. The three Spearman correlations produced correlation coefficients slightly negative but near zero. Further research is warranted into larger SMEs and specific industry segments to better understand the relationship between SME sales and social media marketing.