Acceptance of Viral Marketing in Social Media by SMEs: A Survey among Malaysian Youth
Keywords:
Malaysia, SMEs, social media, viral marketing, youthAbstract
This research was conducted to study the acceptance of SMEs' utilizes of social media in viral marketing by youth, by recognizing several factors of utilise social media viral marketing that may accept by the audience. Youth were chosen as the target respondents because this generation is likely to have social media accounts or spend more time on social media than other generations. Such factors include interactivity, usefulness, target market and work efficiency. These factors are then used as independent variables, where their relationships with the dependent variable— the social media utilization between the high competition of SMEs, are investigated to identify the significance and reliability of these relationships. The four independents were also used to form four hypotheses based on their relationships with social media utilization to viral marketing, which are analyzed and will ultimately determine whether social media viral marketing has significantly influenced youth acceptance to the use of social media to viral marketing by SMEs.
References
Abdul Razak, S. B., & Md Latip, N. A. B. (2016). Factors That Influence The Usage of Social Media In Marketing. Journal of Research in Business and Management, Volume 4 (2), 1-7. https://doi.org.questjournals.org/jrbm/papers/vol4-issue2/A420107.pdf Abdullah, N. A. H., Ahmad, A. H., Zainudin, N., & Rus, R. M. (2019).
Predicting Financially Distressed Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in Malaysia. Global Business Review, 20(3), 627–639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150919837053 Ahmad, S. Z., Ahmad, N., & Abu Bakar, A. R. (2018).
Reflections of entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises concerning the adoption of social media and its impact on performance outcomes: Evidence from the UAE. Telematics and Informatics, 35(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2017.09.006 Ainin, S., Parveen, F., Moghavvemi, S., Jaafar, N. I., & Mohd Shuib, N. L. (2015).
Factors influencing the use of social media by SMEs and its performance outcomes. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 115(3), 570–588. https://doi.org/10.1108/imds-07-2014-0205 Akhtar, I. (2016).
Research Design. In Research in Social Science: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (1st , p. pp17). essay, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308915548_Research_Design. Aldahdouh, T. Z., Nokelainen, P., & Korhonen, V. (2020).
Technology and Social Media Usage in Higher Education: The Influence of Individual Innovativeness. SAGE Open, 10(1), 2158244019899441. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019899441 Alghizzawi, M. (2019).
A survey of the role of social media platforms in viral marketing: The influence of eWOM. International Journal of Information Technology and Language Studies. https://doi.org/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/MahmoudAlghizzawi/publication/335110016_A_survey_of_the_role_of_social_media_platforms_in_viral_marketing_The_influence_of_eWOM/links/5d5106a74585153e594ea689/A-survey-of-the-roleof-social-media-platforms-in-viral-marketing-The-influence-of-eWOM.pdf Ananda, A. S., García, Á. H., & Lamberti, L. (2017).
SME fashion brands and social media marketing: from strategies to actions. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 13(4), 468. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijwbc.2017.089350 Animalz. (2020, August 12). Viral Marketing: What It Is & How to Make it Work for Your Business. AdEspresso. https://adespresso.com/blog/viral-marketing-examples-tips/. Anning-Dorson, T. (2016).
Interactivity innovations, competitive intensity, customer demand and performance. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 8(4), 536–554. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijqss-11-2015-0075 Caldwell, M. (2018).
Viral marketing strategies behind 2018's three top-hashtagged Super Bowl ads. SketchDeck. https://doi.org/https://www.sketchdeck.com/blog/viral-marketing-strategies-behind2018s-three-top-hashtagged-super-bowl-ads. Camilleri, M. A. (2019).
The smes’ technology acceptance of digital media for stakeholder engagement. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 26(4), 504–521. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-02-2018-0042 Cheng, C. C. J., & Shiu, E. C. (2018).
How to enhance SMEs customer involvement using social media: The role of Social CRM. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 37(1), 22–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242618774831 Dutot, V., & Bergeron, F. (2016).
From strategic orientation to social media orientation. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 23(4), 1165–1190. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-11- 2015-0160 Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Hughes, D. L., Carlson, J., Filieri, R., Jacobson, J., Jain, V., Karjaluoto, H., Kefi, H., Krishen, A. S., Kumar, V., Rahman, M. M., Raman, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., Rowley, J., Salo, J., Tran, G. A., & Wang, Y. (2021).
Setting the future of digital and social media marketing research: Perspectives and research propositions. International Journal of Information Management, 59, 102168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168 Emilia. (2020, March 10).
The History of Social Media—How Facebook, IG, LinkedIn,Twitter evolved. Postfity.Com. https://postfity.com/blog/history-social-media/ Fraile, A. (n.d.). What Is Viral Marketing? Examples and Advantages. Cyberclick. https://www.cyberclick.net/numericalblogen/what-is-viral-marketing-advantages-and-examples. Gekombe, C., Tumsifu, E., & Jani, D. (2021).
Social media use among small and medium enterprises: a case of fashion industry growth. University of Dar Es Salaam Library Journal, 14(2). https://doi.org/https://www.ajol.info/index.php/udslj/article/view/203810 Gibson, N. (2018).
An Analysis of the Impact of Social Media Marketing on Individuals’ Attitudes and Perceptions at NOVA Community College. Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons. https://doi.org/https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1588&context=ots_m asters_projects Gomez, R. (2021).
ways customers interact and engage with your brand on social. Sprout social. https://doi.org/https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-interaction/ Granata, G., & Scozzese, G. (2018).
The Evolution of Viral Marketing to Improve Business Communication. International Business Research, 11(12), 105. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v11n12p105 Hassan, S. H., Mohamed Haniba, N. M., & Ahmad, N. H. (2019).
Social customer relationship management (s-CRM) among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 35(2), 284–302. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijoes-11- 2017-0192 Hendrayati, H., & Pamungkas, P. (2020).
Viral Marketing and E-Word of Mouth Communication in Social Media Marketing. Proceedings of the 3rd Global Conference On Business, Management, and Entrepreneurship (GCBME 2018). https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.200131.010 Johan, M. R. M., Syed, M. A. M., & Adnan, H. (2022).
Malaysia Small and Medium-Size Enterprises Physique Brand Identity Persuasiveness in Social Media Message Content. Jurnal Pengajian Media Malaysia, 24(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.22452/jpmm.vol24no1.2 Kagan, J. (2021, December 7).
Viral marketing: What it is, how it works, examples, pros & cons. Investopedia. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/viralmarketing.asp Liang, M., Xin, Z., Yan, D. X., & Jianxiang, F. (2020).
How to improve employee satisfaction and efficiency through different enterprise social media use. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 34(3), 922–947. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeim-10-2019-0321 Mayer-Schonberger, V., & Ramge, T. (2018).
A Big Choice for Big Tech: Share Data or Suffer the Consequences. Foreign Affairs, 97, 48. Mayr, S., Mitter, C., Kücher, A., & Duller, C. (2021).
Entrepreneur characteristics and differences in reasons for business failure: Evidence from bankrupt Austrian SMEs. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 33(5), 539–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/08276331.2020.1786647 McCarthy, A. (2018).
Targeting on Social Media: The Why and How. Media Update. https://doi.org/https://www.mediaupdate.co.za/marketing/144209/targeting-on-social-media-thewhy-and-how Melnick, M. J., & Jackson, S. J. (2002).
Globalization American-Style and Reference Idol Selection: The Importance of Athlete Celebrity Others among New Zealand Youth. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 37(3–4), 429–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690202037004027 Michael, G., Nyomora, A. M. S., Mvungi, E. F., & Sangu, E. M. (2021).
Seasonal diversity of entomofauna, their impact and management practices in tomato fields in Meru district, Tanzania. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 21(04), 17952–17971. https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.99.19680 Morgan, D. L. (1993). Qualitative content analysis: A guide to paths not taken. Qualitative Health Research, 3(1), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973239300300107 Mondschein, A., King, D. A., Hoehne, C., Jiang, Z., & Chester, M. (2020).
Using social media to evaluate associations between parking supply and parking sentiment. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 4, 100085. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2019.100085 Mundt, M., Ross, K., & Burnett, C. M. (2018).
Scaling Social Movements Through Social Media: The Case of Black Lives Matter. Social Media + Society, 4(4), 2056305118807911. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118807911 Nawi, N. B., Mamun, A. A., Nasir, N. A., Shokery, N. M., Raston, N. B., & Fazal, S. A. (2017).
Acceptance and usage of social media as a platform among student entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(2), 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-09-2016- 0136 Ortiz-Ospina, E. (2019, September 18).
The rise of Social Media. Our World in Data. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media Papa, A., Santoro, G., Tirabeni, L., & Monge, F. (2018).
Social media as a tool for facilitating knowledge creation and innovation in small and medium enterprises. Baltic Journal of Management, 13(3), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1108/bjm-04-2017-0125 Pedraza, J. M. (2021).
The Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Its Role in the Economic Development of a Country. Business and Management Research, 10(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.5430/bmr.v10n1p33 Salam, S., & Hoque, A. S. M. M. (2019).
The role of social media and effect of relationship marketing on sme performance in bangladesh: multi-group cfa. ASIAN PEOPLE JOURNAL, 2(1). https://doi.org/https://journal.unisza.edu.my/apj/index.php/apj/article/view/98 Saamiee, S. (2020).
International marketing and the internet: a research overview and the path forward. International Marketing Review, 37(3), 425–436. https://doi.org/10.1108/imr-03-2018-0120 Serafinelli, E. (2018).
Visual Media Marketing. Digital Life on Instagram, 99–124. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-495-420181004 Shinde, M., & D. Berger, P. (2020).
The Effectiveness of Viral Marketing in American vs. Indian Market Segments. Journal of Marketing Management (JMM), 8(1). https://doi.org/10.15640/jmm.v8n1a1 Syaharizad, A. R. B., & Nor Azrin, M. L. B. (2016).
Factors That Influence the Usage of Social Media In Marketing. Journal of Research in Business and Management, 4(2), 01–07. https://doi.org/https://www.questjournals.org/jrbm/papers/vol4-issue2/A420107.pdf Tajudeen, F. P., Jaafar, N. I., & Ainin, S. (2018).
Understanding the impact of social media usage among organisations. Information & Management, 55(3), 308–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.08.004 Tourani, N. (2022).
Thriving in a shifting landscape: Role of social media in support of business strategy. Asia Pacific Management Review, 27(4), 276–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2021.11.001 Vilpponen, A., Winter, S., & Sundqvist, S. (2006). Electronic Word-of-Mouth in Online Environments. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 6(2), 8–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2006.10722120 Virtanen, H., Björk, P., & Sjöström, E. (2017).
Follow for following: marketing of a start-up company on Instagram. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(3), 468–484. https://doi.org/10.1108/jsbed-12-2016-0202 Wong, A. (2023). How social capital builds online brand advocacy in luxury social media brand communities. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 70, 103143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103143
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mei Sim Chai , Wei Song Feng , Mohd Remie Mohd Johan, Nor Asiah Mahmood, Zhucheng Shao

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



