Communication in new technology based‐firms

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims at identifying the main social media applications used by new technology based‐firms (NTBFs) and at calculating the volume of followers they have in each application. It also focuses on the amount of activity generated by the firms in those social networks, identifying the key thematic content of their social media activity, analyzing the ability to create dialogue with their stakeholders and clarifying which style of communication they use.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an exploratory study of the use of social media tools by NTBFs, located in Spanish Science Parks, as an important resource network for firms in the corresponding sector. A total of 432 new technology‐based firms were analyzed to identify which social media applications are more frequently used, as well as to establish the number of followers they registered in the month of February, 2012.

Findings

The results contribute towards a better understanding of how firms monitor public perception of their brand, products, and services in real time. The main conclusion of this study is the low presence of technology‐based firms in the five social media applications analyzed herein.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations of this study are related to the time period analyzed, given that the authors just observed one month of a year, which can lead to distortions regarding the activity of firms throughout the year.

Practical implications

The paper includes implications for the need of businesses to develop communication strategies focused on social media, which are designed to enable the development of a dialogue with stakeholders and allow firms to implement a communication strategy based on the principles of relational marketing.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study thoroughly how firms use social media.

Citation

Ubeda, J.E., Gieure, C., de‐la‐Cruz, C. and Sastre, O. (2013), "Communication in new technology based‐firms", Management Decision, Vol. 51 No. 3, pp. 615-628. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741311309689