The Role Of Social Media Networks In The Development Of Competitive Advantage Of Small And Micro Enterprises In Kenya (Case Of Small Firms Within Village Market In Nairobi)

ABSTRACT

By utilizing electronic media and social networks, the ways of conducting businesses are rapidly

changing and evolving. New business opportunities are emerging due to elimination of

geographical barriers and the clientele being reached varies in age, culture and fmancial

capability. With the growth of social media networks, most people tend to access their profiles in

their work area networks. Social networks enable a business to be where the customers are. The

sites rely on the regular presence of millions of users. The general obj ective of the study was to

investigate the role of social media networks in development of competitive advantage of SMEs

firms within Village Market in Nairobi. The population of this study was 130 respondents the

owners and employees in SMEs firms within Village Market in Nairobi. The researcher

interviewed 101 respondents from the entire population selected in groups. Questionnaires were

used to obtain important information about the population. The data was coded and descriptive

statistics such as means, standard deviation and frequency distribution were used to analyse the

data. Multiple Linear Regression analysis and Chi-Square Test were applied to determine the

relationship of the variables. The study concludes that Facebook is the tool being used by the

majority of SMEs as in conducting their business and this has been used for quite sometimes by

majority of the SMEs. The study also concludes that SMEs owners have adequate information in

regard to the role played by social media in running of their business and that's why they are all

moving the social media way. The study thus recommends SMEs to adopt the modem

technology since they will have the opportunity to capitalize on the advantages of deploying a

social media workforce using applications such as text messaging, email and data transfer. This

will also help the SMEs enjoy the benefits of social media that is in the ability of firms to interact

with their customers as seen by the anticipation of the drive towards customer value or relationship marketing