An Apppraisal of Social Network Media Use for Online Group Buying in South AFrica

Adriaanse, Zinia Erin, Utulu, Samuel and Sewchurran, Kosheek An Apppraisal of Social Network Media Use for Online Group Buying in South AFrica., 2012 . In World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, Paris, France, August 2012. [Conference paper]

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English abstract

South Africa's socio-economic modernization has led to the adoption a variety of ICT based consumer goods marketing practices. One of the contemporary ICT based consumer goods marketing practices which is fast becoming popular among South African consumer goods and services firms and consumers is the online group buying. this research was therefore carried out in order to do an empirical appraisal of online group buying in the South AFrican consumer goods market using examples from the Western Cape Province. The study's primary objectives are to examine the social phenomena underpinning the use of social networking platforms facebook and twitter by merchants, vendors and consumer who participate in online group buying in South AFrica and to examine the benefit they derive and challenges they face. The research is qualitative and therefore adopted adopted exploration soft systems (SS) approach that was based on the principles of SS methodology developed by Peter Checkland in 1999. The study revealed that merchants use of facebook and twitter is limited. It also reach with which group buying vendors have on facebook and twitter in term of the number of their facebook and twitter members (merchants) influenced merchants' choice of vendors to manage their online group buying campaigns. The study also revealed that vendors are not able to use facebook and twitter in ways that encourage merchants to join their online networks and to engage them to manage their online group buying initiatives. Particularly the study revealed that online group vendors did not handle the communicativeness of their own websites and that of facebook and twitter in manner that their communication richness can be harnessed for the purpose of online group buying. This hampers the social aspect of online group buying and prevents vendors from appropriately sharing required and available information about group buying deals to members within their online networks. The research also reveal that there is room for improvement in the ways facebook and twitter are being used for online group buying campaigns in South AFrica. As a result, conclusion was reached and recommendation proffered.

Item type:	Conference paper
Keywords:	Group Buying, Marketing, South Africa, Online Buying
Subjects:	F. Management. > FB. Marketing.
Depositing user:	Mr Samuel C. Avemaria Utulu
Date deposited:	31 Jul 2018 10:17
Last modified:	31 Jul 2018 10:18
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/10760/33246

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