To Örebro University

This study was conducted in order to find out if the strategic management maturity and the innovation capability of companies are also indicators of the extent of the use of social media tools. This study was conducted among companies in the Finnish car retail and service business.

Design/methodology/approach – We conducted a survey questionnaire of 110 questions among CEOs and top managers. Access to managers was obtained via the Finnish Central Organisation for Motor Trades and Repairs. The sample covered all member companies in the central organisation (147 companies). This study provided us with a good overview of the focal industry in Finland. Of these companies, 70 % had a turnover of between 5-50 MEUR and 27% had a turnover of more than 50 MEUR. We obtained responses from 37 company managers at a response rate of 25.2%. A structured in-depth interview was also conducted with some of the managers.

Originality/value – This  methodology  is  used  to  identify  the  contemporary  state  of utilization of social media in the Finnish car retail and service business.  Results gained can be compared to an earlier study among a population of 2488 Finnish decision makers from the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries  (Jussila et al., 2014, 2015). The interviews with managers gave us valuable knowledge about the underlying contradictions and reasons for use/non-use of social media in these companies.

Practical implications – The outcomes of the study increase our understanding of social media  use  in  business,  the  challenges  faced  by  companies,  as  well  as  social  media strategy  formulation. An  increasing number  of papers  have  been published  on social media use in companies; however, only a few take a holistic business approach (Effing, 2013; Graf and Mandl, 2013).