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    A conceptual stages-of-growth model for managing a social media business profile.


    Duane, Aidan and O'Reilly, Philip (2017) A conceptual stages-of-growth model for managing a social media business profile. Irish Journal of Management, 36 (2): 3. pp. 78-98. ISSN 1649-248X

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    Abstract

    There is little understanding of how organisations manage social media. Stage-of-growth (SoG) models represent a picture of evolution, where the current stage can be understood in terms of history and future, providing an opportunity to identify the stages, paths of evolution, benchmark variables, and dominant problems experienced by organisations at each stage. Following a review of 4 decades of SoG model research, as well as a review of existing social media research and practitioner insight across multiple domains, the authors adopt Gottschalk and Solli-Sæther's (2010) five-step stage modelling process as a research methodology to develop a SoG model for managing a social media business profile (SMBP). The paper develops and validates Step 1 (suggested stage model) and Step 2 (conceptual stage model) of the stage modelling process. A number of key contributions to theory and practice are identified, and ongoing research to further refine the model is outlined.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Growth; Benchmarking; Challenges;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Business
    Item ID: 20437
    Identification Number: 10.1515/ijm-2017-0015
    Depositing User: IAM School of Business
    Date Deposited: 15 Aug 2025 12:48
    Journal or Publication Title: Irish Journal of Management
    Publisher: Irish Academy of Management
    Refereed: Yes
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/20437
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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