The Power of a web-enabled marketing eco-system

In light of the increased adaptation of social media by consumers and businesses, guided by an evolving dynamic set of technologies and as the exponential growth derived by the development of new technologies promises even more reliance on social media as a marketing function. This paper, by focusing on the main reasons behind the wide acceptance of social media by consumers and businesses, examines the power of web-enabled marketing, which has made the marketplace more open and transparent than ever before. It also considers the opportunities that this situation creates. Several constructs of consumers’ perceived benefits were found to be enabled through the use of social media, mainly through the concept of value co-creation which enables empowerment, power, influence, input, ownership, engagement, accessibility, communication, connectivity and interaction. From a business perspective, several benefits were found to be enabled through the use of social media are co-creation, empowerment, power, connectivity, communication, enhanced innovation and knowledge management and data capture maximisation. Finally, the findings of this research suggest that the main reason for the adoption of social media amongst businesses and consumers is its user-friendly nature

The dynamics of social media and value co-creation

Social media is considered trustworthy by consumers, and this has resulted in a strong consumer focus on social media to acquire information related to products and services. There are various benefits offered by social media, but security is a major concern as viruses and other threats can affect a huge number of users of social media. These platforms are not well governed. Indeed, they are highly decentralized and could easily be accessed, and this presents a high risk of illegal activity. Businesses continue to reap the benefits of incorporating social media into their strategies. There has been a shift in focus from conventional media to online and digital media in the form of social networking sites, wikis, and blogs. This has given rise to viral marketing as a means of effective communication and sharing information. The current chapter aims to explore the relationship between social media and value co-creation