The Impact of Social Media Usage on Multiple Strategic Orientations and Its Effect on Financial and Non-Financial Performance

Abstract

Earlier research predominantly concentrated on a single strategic orientation to explain organizational performance; the significance of multiple strategic directions for an organization’s long-term success still needs to be studied. Therefore, the current study is an attempt to explore organizational performance both in terms of financial (profitability and sales growth) and non-financial indicators, explicitly focusing on maintaining customer relationships (customer satisfaction and loyalty) by developing multiple strategic orientations (customer and competitor orientation). Two separate surveys, one completed by the organization’s top management and the other by the corresponding customers of the organizations from various sectors of Pakistan who were also active on Facebook, were used in a quantitative cross-sectional research design to gather primary data using a structured questionnaire. Ultimately, 209 participants from each survey were chosen for data analysis. This suggested model was tested using AMOS and Smart PLS. The multiple strategic orientations act as a positive mediator between the direct relationship between social media usage and organizational performance, and all of the study's findings are found to be significantly positive. Moreover, adopting social media usage and multiple strategic orientations are essential for attaining competitive advantages and organizational performance, as this study offers managerial insights. It also establishes the groundwork for marketing researchers, managers, and practitioners to emphasize the value of customer and competitor orientation in enhancing an organization’s financial and non-financial performance.