INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON SMALL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA

• Main Author: Olushola Omolekan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Fundatiei Romania de Maine 2020-10-01
• Series: Annals of Spiru Haret University Economic Series
• Online Access: http://anale.spiruharet.ro/index.php/economics/article/view/1014

Networking has make the world to become a small community especially through social media. The usage of social networking sites by all and sundry has make the world a commonplace for both individuals and businesses alike. Small businesses now utilized social media to promote and communicate their products and services to the global community. Thus, the inherent small business challenges such as finance, low patronage, high cost of doing business and low market share are being checked. Therefore, this study examine the influence of social networking on small business performance in Nigeria. Specific objectives are to: evaluate the influence of social media on market share; and determine the effect of search engine on consumers’ choice making. Survey design was adopted for the study. The study population comprises of registered small businesses in Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria. Judgmental and simple random techniques were used to select the sample respondents. Ordinary least square regression was used to analyse the collated data. The findings revealed that social media have significant effect on market share. Also, search engine significantly influence consumers’ choice making. The study concluded that significant relationship exists between social networking and small business performance. The study recommended that video sharing platform should be adequately embraced to favourably positioned products and services. Besides, consumer trust should be built through timely delivery and product quality to encourage repeat purchase.