Are Social Networks Sufficiently Used in Companies? Case Study in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Social media use is currently on the rise and companies find it useful for communicating with their customers or business associates. This paper aims to analyze perceived benefits and the use of social networks in Czech companies in relation to certain specifics of the company. A questionnaire survey was done in cooperation with the Regional Economic Chamber of Hradec Kralove region and a return rate of 2% was achieved. The Chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney test was used to understand the strength of the intensity of dependence of the basis of model coefficients. It was discovered that 55% of the companies surveyed use social networks, while 80% of companies regard them as an important part of business. Significant differences in the use of social networks were found based on the industries in which firms do their business. Industrial companies do not use social networks, compared to 72% of companies doing business in services who use social networks. It was also found that companies with more than 200 customers use social networks the most. Overall, the use of social networks in the Czech companies is low. The fact that only 52% of respondents analyze their efforts on social networks is especially startling. This results in unfulfilled organizational potential, which is more significant especially when compared with the results of foreign studies where the social networks are used by up to 96%.