Title: Communication management of start-ups: an empirical analysis of entrepreneurs' communication and networking success on Facebook

Authors: Stefanie Pakura; Christian Rudeloff; Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn; Fabian Eggers

Addresses: Management & Digital Markets, University of Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 9, 20146 Hamburg, Germany ' Media Faculty, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, Getrudenstrasse 3, 20095 Hamburg, Germany ' Institute for Management & Organisation, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany ' Department of Marketing, Menlo College, 1000 El Camino Real, Atherton, CA 94027-4301, USA

Abstract: Social networks attract increasing attention from practice and academia, yet social media networks as part of a start-up's strategic communication efforts remain under-studied. To fill this gap, we conceptualise start-up social media communication within the framework of communication management theory. We set up five hypotheses regarding the influence of different communication activities on start-ups' communication success and the moderating role of firm age. We collected data through structured questionnaires using a sample size of 244 start-ups in Germany and ran ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses. Results indicate that social media communication management is a significant driver of communication success. Two main factors, environmental scanning and networking, are revealed. Furthermore, we find different communication and networking practices depending on the start-up's age: In early phases, ad hoc monitoring, personal networks and business-to-consumer networking are key elements. In contrast, a long-term communication plan, professional networks and business-to-business networking are crucial in later stage start-ups.

Keywords: communication management; networking; entrepreneurship; Facebook; marketing; social media; start-ups.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2020.111538

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2020 Vol.12 No.5, pp.459 - 489

Received: 20 Mar 2019
Accepted: 27 Sep 2019
Published online: 30 Nov 2020 *

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