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Social media adoption in Italian firms. Opportunities and challenges for lagging regions
Author(s) -
Aronica Martina,
Bonfanti Rubinia Celeste,
Piacentino Davide
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
papers in regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1435-5957
pISSN - 1056-8190
DOI - 10.1111/pirs.12606
Subject(s) - lagging , social media , business , face (sociological concept) , empirical research , marketing , political science , sociology , social science , medicine , philosophy , epistemology , pathology , law
Social media are an important growth opportunity for firms, especially small‐sized ones operating in peripheral and lagging regions. In this paper, we investigate not only whether firms are able to take this opportunity, but also if they are able to face the challenge of adopting social media at a professional level to obtain a significant economic impact, measured in terms of exporting activities. Exploring the Italian case, our empirical study indicates that smaller firms in lagging areas are more likely to adopt social media but at the same time less likely to use them at a professional level. This reflects poor strategic targets of social media adoption and lower probabilities of entering international markets.