Dynamically Adapting to the New Normal. How COVID-19 Outbreaks Pushed the Social Media Adoption among Italian SMEs

Purpose. The present research aims at investigating the adoption of social media platforms in SMEs and how they integrated them within their marketing strategies during the COVID-19 outbreaks. Dynamic Capabilities – observed as the interplay between sensing, seizing, and reconfiguration capabilities – represent the principal theoretical framework used in this research to explain challenges in social media adoption and their effects on these businesses. Design/Methodology/Approach. The study adopts the grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interviews with 19 key informants from Italian SMEs belonging to diversified industries. Findings. The findings of this research are summarized in a holistic framework that explores three types of capabilities (i.e., sensing, seizing, reconfiguration capabilities) and the marketing outcomes of social media adoption among SMEs. Originality. The study attempts to unpack which SMEs to be successful in social media the