IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/rvmgts/v16y2022i3d10.1007_s11846-021-00464-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

It takes two to tango: the interplay between decision logics, communication strategies and social media engagement in start-ups

Author

Listed:
  • Christian Rudeloff

    (Macromedia University of Applied Sciences)

  • Stefanie Pakura

    (University of Hamburg)

  • Fabian Eggers

    (Menlo College)

  • Thomas Niemand

    (Clausthal University of Technology)

Abstract

This manuscript analyzes start-ups’ usage of different communication strategies (information, response, involvement), their underlying decision logics (effectuation, causation, strategy absence) and respective social media success. A multitude of studies have been published on the decision logics of entrepreneurs as well as on different communication strategies. Decision logics and according strategies and actions are closely connected. Still, research on the interplay between the two areas is largely missing. This applies in particular to the effect of different decision logics and communication models on social media success. Through a combination of case studies with fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis this exploratory study demonstrates that different combinations of causal and absence of strategy decision logics can be equally successful when it comes to social media engagement, whereas effectuation is detrimental for success. Furthermore, we find that two-way-communication is essential to create engagement, while information strategy alone cannot lead to social media success. This study provides new insights into the role of decision logics and connects effectuation theory with the communication literature, a field that has been dominated by causal approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Rudeloff & Stefanie Pakura & Fabian Eggers & Thomas Niemand, 2022. "It takes two to tango: the interplay between decision logics, communication strategies and social media engagement in start-ups," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 681-712, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:16:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11846-021-00464-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11846-021-00464-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11846-021-00464-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11846-021-00464-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yashar Mansoori & Martin Lackéus, 2020. "Comparing effectuation to discovery-driven planning, prescriptive entrepreneurship, business planning, lean startup, and design thinking," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 791-818, March.
    2. Niina Nummela & Sami Saarenketo & Päivi Jokela & Sharon Loane, 2014. "Strategic Decision-Making of a Born Global: A Comparative Study From Three Small Open Economies," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 527-550, August.
    3. Friederike Welter & David Smallbone, 2006. "Exploring the Role of Trust in Entrepreneurial Activity," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(4), pages 465-475, July.
    4. Fischer, Eileen & Reuber, A. Rebecca, 2011. "Social interaction via new social media: (How) can interactions on Twitter affect effectual thinking and behavior?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, January.
    5. João J. M. Ferreira & Cristina I. Fernandes & Sascha Kraus, 2019. "Entrepreneurship research: mapping intellectual structures and research trends," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 181-205, February.
    6. Eggers, Fabian & Niemand, Thomas & Filser, Matthias & Kraus, Sascha & Berchtold, Jennifer, 2020. "To network or not to network – Is that really the question? The impact of networking intensity and strategic orientations on innovation success," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Rainer Harms & Holger Schiele, 2012. "Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 95-116, June.
    8. Bernritter, Stefan F. & Verlegh, Peeter W.J. & Smit, Edith G., 2016. "Why Nonprofits Are Easier to Endorse on Social Media: The Roles of Warmth and Brand Symbolism," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 27-42.
    9. Kaplan, Andreas M. & Haenlein, Michael, 2010. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 59-68, January.
    10. Buzeta, Cristian & De Pelsmacker, Patrick & Dens, Nathalie, 2020. "Motivations to Use Different Social Media Types and Their Impact on Consumers' Online Brand-Related Activities (COBRAs)," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 79-98.
    11. Alexander McKelvie & Gaylen N. Chandler & Dawn R. DeTienne & Anette Johansson, 2020. "The measurement of effectuation: highlighting research tensions and opportunities for the future," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 689-720, March.
    12. Fabian Eggers & Isabella Hatak & Sascha Kraus & Thomas Niemand, 2017. "Technologies That Support Marketing and Market Development in SMEs—Evidence from Social Networks," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 270-302, April.
    13. Brettel, Malte & Mauer, René & Engelen, Andreas & Küpper, Daniel, 2012. "Corporate effectuation: Entrepreneurial action and its impact on R&D project performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 167-184.
    14. Adrian Hauser & Fabian Eggers & Stefan Güldenberg, 2020. "Strategic decision-making in SMEs: effectuation, causation, and the absence of strategy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 775-790, March.
    15. Sascha Kraus & Domingo Ribeiro-Soriano & Miriam Schüssler, 2018. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in entrepreneurship and innovation research – the rise of a method," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 15-33, March.
    16. Henry Mintzberg, 1978. "Patterns in Strategy Formation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(9), pages 934-948, May.
    17. Pakura, Stefanie & Rudeloff, Christian & Bekmeier-Feuerhahn, Sigrid & Eggers, Fabian, 2020. "Communication management of start-ups: an empirical analysis of entrepreneurs' communication and networking success on Facebook," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 459-489.
    18. Greg Fisher, 2012. "Effectuation, Causation, and Bricolage: A Behavioral Comparison of Emerging Theories in Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(5), pages 1019-1051, September.
    19. Stefanie Pakura & Christian Rudeloff & Sigrid Bekmeier-Feuerhahn & Fabian Eggers, 2020. "Communication management of start-ups: an empirical analysis of entrepreneurs' communication and networking success on Facebook," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(5), pages 459-489.
    20. Tobias Frese & Ingmar Geiger & Florian Dost, 2020. "An empirical investigation of determinants of effectual and causal decision logics in online and high-tech start-up firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 641-664, March.
    21. Stefanie Lambertz & Reinhard Schulte, 2013. "Consolidation period in new ventures: how long does it take to establish a start-up?," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 5(4), pages 369-390.
    22. Fink, Matthias & Koller, Monika & Gartner, Johannes & Floh, Arne & Harms, Rainer, 2020. "Effective entrepreneurial marketing on Facebook – A longitudinal study," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 149-157.
    23. Silke Tegtmeier & Verena Meyer, 2018. "Experts of thoroughness and fanatics of planning? Daring insights into the decision-making of German entrepreneurs," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 33(1), pages 132-157.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. John Levesque & Cédric Dalmasso & Sophie Hooge, 2022. "Understanding the Impacts of Digital Transformation in the Service Industry: the Mutation of the Back-Office Function in the Insurance Sector," Post-Print hal-04068150, HAL.
    2. Lowai G. Abed & Mohaned G. Abed & Todd K. Shackelford, 2023. "Interpersonal Communication Style and Personal and Professional Growth among Saudi Arabian Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-10, January.
    3. C. Rudeloff & P. Michalski, 2024. "How Corporate Brands Communicate their Higher Purpose on Social Media: Evidence from Top Global Brands on Twitter," Corporate Reputation Review, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(3), pages 202-215, August.
    4. Yunhwan Kim, 2023. "Exploring Organizational Self-(re)presentations on Visual Social Media: Computational Analysis of Startups’ Instagram Photos Based on Unsupervised Learning," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katrin M. Smolka & Ingrid Verheul & Katrin Burmeister–Lamp & Pursey P.M.A.R. Heugens, 2018. "Get it Together! Synergistic Effects of Causal and Effectual Decision–Making Logics on Venture Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(4), pages 571-604, July.
    2. Kusi, Samuel Yaw & Gabrielsson, Peter & Kontkanen, Minnie, 2021. "Developing brand identities for international new ventures under uncertainty: Decision-making logics and psychic distance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    3. Alexander McKelvie & Gaylen N. Chandler & Dawn R. DeTienne & Anette Johansson, 2020. "The measurement of effectuation: highlighting research tensions and opportunities for the future," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 689-720, March.
    4. Vinciane Servantie & Martine Hlady-Rispal, 2022. "Born globals’ decision-making logics during their entrepreneurial process," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 255-281, June.
    5. Koller, Sonia & Stephan, Ute & Ahmetoglu, Gorkan, 2022. "Ecological rationality and entrepreneurship: How entrepreneurs fit decision logics to decision content and structure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    6. Marko Matalamäki & Tero Vuorinen & Elina Varamäki & Kirsti Sorama, 2017. "Business Growth in Established Companies; Roles of Effectuation and Causation," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(02), pages 123-148, June.
    7. Igor Laine & Tamara Galkina, 0. "The interplay of effectuation and causation in decision making: Russian SMEs under institutional uncertainty," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-37.
    8. Kusi, Samuel Yaw & Nwoba, Arinze Christian & Adeola, Ogechi & Adedajo, Adedapo & Adjei, Osei Yaw, 2024. "Does entrepreneurial autonomy always drive emerging market SMEs internationalization? An effectual logic perspective," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    9. Lasse Torkkeli & Hanna Salojärvi & Liisa-Maija Sainio & Sami Saarenketo, 2015. "Do All Roads Lead to Rome? The Effect of the Decision-Making Logic on Business Model Change," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 11(3), pages 5-24.
    10. Tobias Frese & Ingmar Geiger & Florian Dost, 2020. "An empirical investigation of determinants of effectual and causal decision logics in online and high-tech start-up firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 641-664, March.
    11. Elżbieta Duliniec, 2018. "Mechanizmy decyzyjne w przedsiębiorstwach wcześnie umiędzynarodowionych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 99-128.
    12. Kerr, Jon & Coviello, Nicole, 2020. "Weaving network theory into effectuation: A multi-level reconceptualization of effectual dynamics," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    13. Chetty, Sylvie & Martín Martín, Oscar & Bai, Wensong, 2024. "Causal foreign market selection and effectual entry decision-making: The mediating role of collaboration to enhance international performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    14. Igor Laine & Tamara Galkina, 2017. "The interplay of effectuation and causation in decision making: Russian SMEs under institutional uncertainty," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 905-941, September.
    15. Fischer, Denise & Greven, Andrea & Tornow, Mark & Brettel, Malte, 2021. "On the value of effectuation processes for R&D alliances and the moderating role of R&D alliance experience," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 606-619.
    16. Margot Racat & Antonin Ricard & René Mauer, 2024. "Effectuation and causation models: an integrative theoretical framework," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 879-893, March.
    17. Cherbib, Jihene, 2024. "Exploring the interplay between entrepreneurial orientation, causation and effectuation under unexpected covid-19 uncertainty: Insights from large French banks," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    18. Benedetto Cannatelli & Matteo Pedrini & Michael Braun, 2019. "Individual-level antecedents of the entrepreneurial approach: the role of different types of passion in the Italian craft brewing industry," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1193-1219, December.
    19. Evers, Natasha & Andersson, Svante, 2021. "Predictive and effectual decision-making in high-tech international new ventures – A matter of sequential ambidexterity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1).
    20. Yu, Xiaoyu & Tao, Yida & Tao, Xiangming & Xia, Fan & Li, Yajie, 2018. "Managing uncertainty in emerging economies: The interaction effects between causation and effectuation on firm performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 121-131.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:rvmgts:v:16:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11846-021-00464-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.