The Degree of Internationalization and the Use of Social Media in Marketing Communication: The Case of SMEs in Poland

摘要

The development of new technologies combined with constantly increasing access to the Internet, facilitates the usage of social media in the business, including firms' operations in foreign markets. The main aim of the article is to identify the relationship between the degree of internationalization and social media usage within different forms of marketing communication in foreign markets. Data was gathered from individual interviews conducted among 334 companies that operate on the Polish market and which are active internationally in terms of marketing communication. Two key findings emerge from the research. First, the strongest correlation between the form of internationalization and the use of social media was obtained as far as advertising (as a form of marketing communication) is concerned. Second, the number of foreign markets a company operates is correlated with the use of social media in terms of all forms of marketing communication.