The influences of social media on Chinese start-up stage entrepreneurship

Sukumar, Arun, Jafari-Sadeghi, Vahid and Xu, Zimu (2021) The influences of social media on Chinese start-up stage entrepreneurship. World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17 (5). pp. 559-578. ISSN 1746-0573

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Abstract

In todays digital era, information is increasingly shared and distributed through online social networks. Online social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube in the west and Sina Weibo, Wechat in China have not only greatly extended the reach of traditional social networks but also facilitated the information distribution process within the networks. With the rising popularity of such social media platforms, the channel where people obtain information has dramatically compared to traditional print media. We collected survey data from 100 Chinese participants and carried out 25 interviews. The results revealed the current status quo, opportunities and challenges on using online social networks. For instance, Weibo and Wechat are the most popular choices for business activities in China. The main entrepreneurial activities on social networks include information collection and analysis as part of the decision-making process or facilitate sales and promotion activities. Challenges include such as the overly populated false news and information distributed through online social networks.

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