Beyond adoption : how technology–organization–environment factors shape the use of social media technologies and performance in B2B companies

english

2026

volume 28, iss. 3, article 2

Univerza v Ljubljani, Ekonomska fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

This study examines how technological, organizational, and environmental factors shape social media technology (SMT) use in business-to-business (B2B) markets and how SMT use relates to customer relationship performance and marketing performance. Building on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, we develop and test a structural model in which perceived simplicity of SMT (technology), SMT strategy (organization), and mimetic competitive pressure (environment) shape SMT use, which in turn affects customer relationship and marketing performance. We collected data with an online survey of 195 marketing and sales professionals from B2B companies in Slovenia. Results indicate that SMT strategy is the strongest predictor of SMT use, followed by mimetic competitive pressure, while the effect of perceived simplicity on SMT use is not statistically significant. SMT use is positively related to marketing performance and only marginally to customer relationship performance. Customer relationship performance further enhances marketing performance. The study contributes to digital communication research in B2B markets by showing how SMT use in a mature technology context is related to relationship outcomes and overall marketing performance.

14.09.2026