What Impact has Social Media had on Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century?

Goff, Darren (2021) What Impact has Social Media had on Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century? Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Developments in technology has led to social media becoming a key tool to grow a business in the 21st century. These social media platforms allow the business to curate content and recognise trends which presents the opportunity to reach a wider audience thus, increasing brand awareness. Social media integrates the business and consumer in an efficient means of feedback and communication which can be beneficial for both parties. This research argued that not only is social media changing the way entrepreneurs create themselves but also how entrepreneurs are viewed in the 21st century. By investigating previous literature, relevant themes were discussed, and three entrepreneurial types emerged which have been analysed throughout this research. The hypothesis of this research stated that social media has had an impact on entrepreneurship. The secondary data presented in the literature review possessed limitations as the use of surveys limited the detail of the study. The findings of these surveys provided the background to several questions in the interview process. This mixed-methods approach allowed for information to be phased throughout this research and develop further understandings in the field to accept/reject the hypothesis. Through analysing patterns in the interviews and literature review, a thematic analysis approach was used to extract the information required to discuss the findings. It was shown that the hypothesis was accepted, and that social media has impacted entrepreneurship. By discussing these findings among the sample of entrepreneurs in the interview process, combined with the previous findings from the literature review, a conclusion to the research question was developed to state exactly how social media has impacted entrepreneurship.

The findings discussed that social media has had a significant impact on entrepreneurship in the 21st century. This has been cross-examined between the three entrepreneurial types with all interviewees agreeing that social media must be utilised in a business in the 21st century to compete in the relevant industry. The lack of online investment has seen the recent downfalls of the Arcadia Group who owned well-known fashion retailers such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge, etc. entering administration. To exemplify this point, the online retailer ‘Asos’ and ‘Boohoo’ have procured various brands belonging to the Arcadia Group. This signifies that the online businesses are outperforming the physical businesses by such a distance, that they can procure their physical competition. The synopsis of this research details the critical importance of social media and possessing an online presence impacts customer communication and in turn, a business’s performance in the 21st century, illustrated with real-world examples.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory > Entrepreneurship Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4150 Computer Network Resources > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering > Telecommunications > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks
Divisions:	School of Business > BA (Honours) in Business Studies
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	04 Feb 2022 12:45
Last Modified:	04 Feb 2022 12:45
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5386

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