The Impact Of Social Networks Assessment Answer

ight different models and theories that are related to impact of social network and e-commerce of the buying behaviour of the customers. On the basis of past works of different researchers and theories, the researcher has evaluated all the different approaches of the research in an effective manner. All the theories and models will be evaluated based on secondary sources of data. Based on the gaps of the literature review, the research questions and methodology of the research will be evaluated by the researcher. s

2.2 Theory

This part of the literature review will throw light on the different aspects of social media and its implementation of the different e-commerce websites with respect to the different organizations. In addition to this, it can be deduced that there are several theories and models that can be implemented with reference to the different concepts of buying behaviour along with the different concepts of social media.

2.3 Empirical Research

The chapter of the researcher has been evaluated based on secondary sources of past authors and researchers in an effective manner. It can be deduced that the researcher to carry out the research project in an effective manner has evaluated different theories and models of social media.

2.2.1 Concept of Social media network, e-commerce and Concept of consumer buying behaviour

According to Lee and Eric (2011), in the present business scenario, the importance of social media networking has increased largely. Many business organizations use the given concept of social networking sites to se of worth of mouth publicity. It can be inferred that all the social networking sites can be used as word of mouth forum with the help of several tools of Facebook, twitter, blogs, journals, websites, etc. It can be also deduced that different organizations may use different social networking sites as an interactive platform to communicate with the stakeholders in an effective manner. In addition to this, it can be also deduced that the tool of social media can be used as a platform to circulate information to the end users regarding their products and services. It can be also deduced that with the help of the given tool of social media, it can be also inferred that an effective form of feedback of customers can be obtained on behalf of the respective organizations. There are several forms of social networking sites. These can be divided as follows:-

Mass media of social networking websites- Facebook, Twitter, etc

Media sharing websites-You Tube, Flicker

Networking in a professional manner- LinkedIn, Xing, etc

These are the different models of social media that can be used by different e-commerce websites like E-Bay, in order to judge the buying pattern of the customers with reference to online products.

According to Harrison and Reilly, (2011), the concept of consumer buying behaviour incorporates about the process of buying of products and services from all the respective organizations in an effective manner. The process of buying behaviour also interprets the attitude, behavioural preferences and decisions of the respective customers in terms of buying any form of products and services in an effective manner. It is important for all the modern business organizations to interpret and investigate about the process and buying pattern of their respective customers. Due to this reason, it can be also interpreted that there are several factors that influence the process of consumer buying behaviour. All the given attributes and process of consumer behaviour will be interpreted through the given chapter of literature review.

The concept of e-commerce interprets the respective business model, which helps a business organization to build up their business network. Several modern e-commerce websites operate only through the platform of e-commerce network. The modern era has witnessed the growth of several e-commerce organizations in all the respective sectors. The major advantage for the respective e-commerce organizations are that there operate throughout the day and the prospective customers can buy products any point of time throughout the day.

However, there are several disadvantages for the given e-commerce organizations. These are in the form of effective customer service, less gratification, no point of touching the respective product. It is important for all the respective e-commerce organizations to nullify all the respective disadvantages in a respective manner (Lee and Eric 2011).

2.2.2 Social media model (Honey comb)

There are several elements of the respective Honey comb model with the different social networking websites It can be further deduced that the given elements of a successful implementation of the given social networking website are identity, sharing, conversation, presence, reputation, relationship and groups.

Identity- The element of identify reflects about the identification of the respective brand with regarding to the respective e-commerce organization. It can be further deduced that the organizations are required to create their brand identity with respect to their potential customers.

In addition to this, it can be also deduced that the organization is required to reveal information in order to influence the buying behaviour of the respective customers.

Sharing- It is of great essence with the organization to share information with their respective customers. In addition to this, it can be deduced that the content of the e-commerce websites is required to be at par with the needs and requirements of the prospective customers. In addition to this, all the sharing of information needs to be on the basis of word of mouth information of the respective customers (Clancy, 2008)

Conversation- The element of conversation reflects about the process of communication with the respective people through the usage of different tools of social media. In addition to this, it can be deduced that the process of conversation can depend on the self-esteem or self-image of the respective organization. In addition to this, the organization can also infer the rules of social media with the different stakeholders of the organization.

Relationship- The element of relationship can be proved to be helpful for the respective organization to incur and interpret relationships with the respective customers.  In addition to this, it can be also deduced that these element of Honey comb model can be considered of crucial importance for all the respective organizations. In addition to this, it can be also deduced the process of consumer behaviour can be manipulated by the respective organizations to buy their respective products and services.

Groups- In case of social media tools and techniques, the different groups can influence in a great manner. In addition to this, it can be inferred that these groups can be considered as different groups of customers in terms of buying of different products and services.

Reputation-It can be inferred that reputation can be considered as one of the important elements of the respective organization. Higher the reputation of a respective organization, higher will be the chances of buying of the respective products of the organization.

Figure 1: Elements in the Honey comb model of social media

(Source: Thompson and Prashant 2013)

If the respective-commerce organization is able to implement this model within their system, then, it will be easier for them to communicate with all their prospective customers. ss

2.2.3 Social exchange theory with respect to social media

With the help of social exchange theory, it can be inferred that engagement of all the stakeholders can take place with respective to e-commerce organizations. This theory also explores the tool of communication exchange between several customers and the organization. The elements of communication will be in the form of several exchanges of ideas and different forms of ideas. Therefore, it is of great essence for the e-commerce business organization to implement social exchange theory within their systems. One of the biggest advantages of social exchange theory is regarding the exchange of ideas between the organization and their prospective customers. If all the important information is exchanged effectively between the two parties, then, it will further benefit the respective e-commerce business organization in a positive manner (Lee and Eric 2011).

2.2.4 Social media penetration theory

This theory infers about the relation between all the given variables of the research. This theory will help the modern e-commerce organizations to investigate and improve all the variables of social media tools. In addition to this, it can be also interpreted that several relationships with the respective customers can be built upon by the respected organization. In addition to this, the process of self-disclosure can be interpreted through the assist of the given theory. There are diverse layers of data and information that are available in the respective tool of social media. It can be inferred that these diverse layers of information can settle the relationship levels between the organization and the customers. Therefore, the respected e-commerce organizations can easily track the different levels of information through the different existing social networking sites. In addition to this, it can be further deduced that the tool of social media penetration theory will help the organization to cater the different decision levels of the respective customers. The biggest advantage of social penetration theory is that the modern e-commerce business organizations can easily communicate with the prospective customers.

2.2.5 Social network theory of social media

With respect to the different tools and techniques of the respective social media, the theory of social networking theory plays an important for every business organization. It can be further inferred that there are more than a few individual communities that can be formed through the usage of different tools and techniques of social media.

Liu  (2012) opines that with an effective use of social networking theory, it can be deduced that different forms of relationships can be formed. These relationships can be in the form of affiliation, mutual interest, financial interest, community interests, etc. These are in the form of density, structural node, closeness and centrality of the organization. This can be further evaluated through the help and analysis of conventional social network. These networking theories of social media are extremely crucial for the modern e-commerce business organization. The main reason behind this is that, all the e-commerce organizations is required to use all the tools and techniques to establish a proper network and proper relationship with the respective customers. The higher effective will be the relationship with the respective more effective and productive will be the respective organization. Due to this reason, it is important for the respective customers to interpret the effective tool of social media in order to influence the buying and demand patterns of the respective customers. One of the biggest merits of the social networking theory is that the organizations can easily communicate with their prospective customers if this theory is effectively applied (Lee and Eric, 2011).

Different social media participants

Sun (2012) infers that  there are different forms of people that are present in the platform of social media platform.

Inactive people- There are several people or consumers in the platform of social media that remain inactive throughout the process of social platform. Those people are less involved about all the activities of social media platforms.

Minor spectators- There are several numbers of consumers who remain mere spectators about all the different activities of the respective organizations or different blogs of the e-commerce organizations. They read the blogs or activities of social networking sites; however, do not participate in any form of customer feedback process of their respective organizations.

Critics- It can be deduced that there is multiple numbers of consumers who act as a critic for all kinds of products and services. It can be also inferred that such critics effective contribute in the buying and feedback process of the respective customers effectively Urde et al. (2013). Therefore, it is important for the e-commerce organizations to impress the critics of their respective products and services.

It is important for all the e-commerce business organizations to cater a wide range of customers through the platform of social media. An e-commerce business organization needs to cater all forms of customers and consumers, who are in the form of in-actives, minor spectators and critics of the respective products and services.

2.2.6 Consumer buying process

The process of consumer buying process and buying behaviour can be evaluated through several steps. This can be further explained with the help of the following diagram:-

Figure 2: Consumer buying behaviour process

(Source:  Urde et al. 2013, p. 14)   

From the above diagram, it can be deduced that there are five steps in the general consumer buying behaviour process. These are in terms of creation of need and awareness of the respect products, research of respective information, and purchase of the respective products and evaluation of post purchase. The first step of the consumer buying process is to create to a respect need and awareness of the respective product or any e-commerce retail product. The second step of consumer decision process is to search the respective information with regards to the respective products and services. Therefore, it is of great essence for the business organizations to create an awareness of the respective products and services. Additionally, it is also important for the organizations to give an effective post sale service to the respective customers of the organization. All the customers have lot of alternatives in case of products and services. Therefore, it can be deduced that the organizations is required to create lot of awareness for the respective online products. For this reason, it is of great essence for the customers to act accordingly in accordance to the awareness of the products and evaluation of best choice of alternatives of the respective products and services. Due to this reason, the modern e-commerce organizations are required to market their products and services in an effective manner. Apart from this, the modern e-commerce business organizations need to engage all their customers effectively (Duncan and Everett, 2008).

2.2.7 Factors influencing consumer buying behaviour process

Susarla et al. (2012) argued that several factors influence the buying process of the customers. These factors are in terms of brand image, quality of products, pricing of the products, effective customer service, marketing and selling policies of the respective e-commerce organization.

It can be deduced that one of the main factors that affect the policies of the organization are in terms of effecting marketing and distribution policies of the respective business organizations. It can be deduced that these factors depend upon the success criteria of several business organizations. Additionally, the different organizations implement several types of marketing and selling policies to influence the different buying process of the respective business organizations. Therefore, it is important for the different business organizations to implement an effective tool of social media marketing to influence the buying process of the different organizations. Through the help of social media marketing, different organizations can market their products in an effective manner. They can also take feedback from the respective customers in terms of effective customer service. Therefore, it can be deduced that many customers get influence through the several marketing strategies with the help of social media marketing. In addition to the given point, it can be also inferred that organization can also implement tools of viral marketing, word of mouth marketing through the tools of social media. If a particular product is successful in terms of word of mouth marketing and viral marketing, the prospective customers often gets influenced through the marketing policies of the given e-commerce business organizations. Therefore, it is of great essence for the organization to incorporate all the respective marketing and sales strategies through social media to influence the buying pattern of customers. In addition to this, it can be also inferred that other factors that influence the buying pattern and buying behaviour process is concerning the pricing strategies, quality of products of the respective business organizations (Harrison and Reilly, 2011).

2.2.8 Advantages of social media tools for the modern e-commerce organizations

Several merits can be deduced by the different e-commerce organizations through the usage of social media tools of marketing. One of the major advantages of social media tools is that the e-commerce organizations can get demographic information of all the customers who visit the respective websites. Additionally, the organization can get all different kinds of information about their prospective customers. Another form of major information can also be in the form of buying pattern of the respective customers. The consumer-buying pattern can be in the form of period of buying, type of product buying, seasonal buying or type of one particular product buying. It can be also inferred that with the assist of different social media tools the organization can also interpret the demand pattern of the customers in accordance to their respective products and services. The customers can also give feedback regarding a new product or existing product through the tool of social media. In accordance to the respective feedback of the customers, the respective e-commerce organizations can take multiple amounts of steps concerning their products and services. The scope and segment of segment of the social media marketing is on the higher side, therefore, it is of great advantage for the respective e-commerce organizations to extend its view to a large variety and different segments of the customers in an effective manner. In addition to this, the respective e-commerce organization can extend its range of products in accordance to the needs and demands of the respective customers. In addition to this, the e-commerce organizations can take the feedback of the customers in terms of their respective products and services. This is the major reason why, most of the modern business organizations try to incorporate all the techniques of social media marketing efficiently. Lastly, it can be inferred that through several social media networking sites, the respective e-commerce business organizations can engage and communicate with the customers on a regular basis. Such form of communication medium also assists the given organizations to measure the feedback of the respective customers (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2009).

2.2.9 Link between social media and different e-commerce business organizations

There is a direct and positive relationship between the different e-commerce organizations and different social media websites. All the e-commerce business organizations get their customer traffic through the different platforms of social media. It can be deduced that the different business organizations operate through the platform of social media to get feedback from the prospective customers. The e-commerce business organizations operate through online platform only. Therefore, the organizations operate through the effective usage of social media platforms to cater a wide of customers in an effective manner. The given social media platform can be in the form of face book, twitter, etc. Additionally, all the different organizations can interpret all the buying pattern and demand pattern of their respective products through the tool of social media. In addition to this, it can be deduced that all the respective e-commerce organizations can segment and position their data based on segmentation of the respective customers. Due to this reason, it is of great essence of the e-commerce organizations to incorporate all the tools and techniques of social media platform. This is the major link between social media platform and the different e-commerce organizations. There are several gaps in the existing literature and the current research methodology. Based on the gaps of the literature, the researcher has evaluated the research methodology of this particular research process.

Challenges in analyzing the behaviour of the customers through social media

Kapferer (2008).deduces that there are several challenges that the modern e-commerce business organization faces in terms of analysing the respective customer behaviour and customer pattern through the help of social media. The marketing managers and business analysts of the given e-commerce organizations do not have full control over the information that the tool of social media circulates. In addition to this, social media tools help all the respective individuals to gather information and compare all sorts of products in the market. Therefore, it is a huge challenge for all the respective e-commerce organizations to measure and monitor of all the information that is circulated due to the great reach of the platform. In addition to this, with the evolvement of social media marketing, the level of competition has increased largely. For this reason, the organizations face several issues. Apart from this, it can be also deduced that since the segment of social media is extremely large, therefore, it is of great difficulty of an e-commerce organization to analyze their respective marketing strategies through the help of social media marketing. Another challenge for the respective e-commerce sites is regarding proper engagement with all segments of the customers across the world. Due to the large range of the social network, all the modern e-commerce organizations fails to engage and communicate with customers all across the regions. This is mainly because of the effect of globalization (Susarla et al. 2012)

Summary

The given literature review throw lights on the different models and theories as given by past authors and researchers. In addition to this, the researcher has also identified different gaps in the literature review. Based on the gaps of the literature review, the researcher has evaluated the research questions and the overall methodologies of the research.

Chapter 3: Research Methodologies

3.1 Introduction

It can be deduced that this chapter of research methodology will be effectively designed by the researcher in order to minimize the respective research problem. In addition to this, there are several modes and approaches that can be evaluated by the researcher in order to maximize the given research aims and research objectives. This chapter will further form the core of the process of the research based on both primary and secondary data.

3.2 Research Problem

The main problems of several e-commerce organizations lie to deal and judge with the behaviour of the prospective customers in an effective manner. In addition to this, it can be also inferred that the organizations is required to seek the importance and impact of the different social networking sites in the respective organizations. There are several effects and impact of buying behaviour of customers on the respective demand patterns of the customers in an effective manner. In addition to this, one of the biggest problem of the different e-commerce organization is regarding that,  it can be also inferred that the organization faces several challenges to minimize the issues of several implementation of the social networking websites in their internal work environment. It can be further deduced that the organizations can face several issues de to effective competition

3.2 Alternative styles of research

The researcher has evaluated the research based on descriptive design which will help the researcher to make a comprehensive research study of the respective research. The researcher has also selected positivism research paradigm and deductive approach to evaluate the purpose of the research in an effective manner. In addition to this, it can be also deduced that the researcher will evaluate all the existing theories of the research. In addition to this, mixed method of approach has been selected by the researcher to carry forward the research. This further infers that the researcher will carry out the research out based on quantitative and qualitative data collection.

3.3 Research Questions

What is the overall impact of social media tools on the difference e-commerce business organizations?

What are the online buying behaviour patterns of the respective customers?

What is the impact of social media on buying pattern of the customers?

What recommendations can be given to the e-commerce organizations in utilization of the different tools of social media?

3.4 Methods of analysis

3.4.1 Research Onion

Figure: Research Onion

(Source: Saunders et al. 2009)

Saunders developed the research onion back in 2009. This research onion will help the researcher to carry out the process of research in a systematic manner. This can be considered as a generic process that will assist the researcher to make alternatives for the purpose of the research in an effective manner. In addition to this, it can be deduced that different processes of research can be considered as the different layers of research onion. In addition to this, it can be deduced that each layer of research will help the researcher to evaluate different approaches to research in addition to the given research paradigms. All the given layers of the research will guide the research to evaluate the research the research effectively.

3.4.2 Research paradigm

Crowther and Lancaster (2012) opine that there are more than a few research paradigms that can be selected by any researcher of the researcher. These are based on positivism, interpretivism, post-positivism and realism. It can be deduced that positivism will help the researchers to carry out the research based on scientific facts and objectives. Post-positivism is an extended version of positivism and further assumes that scientific approaches can be measured and justified in an effective manner. On the contrary, it can be inferred that interpretivism can be considered as an anti-positivism theory and further induces that scientific research process cannot be measured or even tested. In addition to this, realism is a mixture of positivism and interpretivism approach.  A particular researcher can use any one of the research paradigms to carry forward the research smoothly.

Justification for the selection of positivism

The researcher has selected positivism research philosophy to carry out the research in an effective manner. This is mainly because the concept of social media and consumer behaviour can be ascertained through the help scientific data analysis. It cannot be based on the perceptions of human participants. Therefore, interpretivism cannot be said to be valid for the purpose of the research. In addition to this, the given research is required to be based on scientific data and approaches for the feasibility of the respective study. In addition to this, since it is a primary data analysis, therefore, scientific research process can be evaluated through the given research project. Realism and interpretivism can be considered weak in the given case as there is no scope for human perceptions in the respective research project.

3.4.3 Research approach

There can be variation of approaches for any given research project. This is mainly because; the research problems and total amount of complexities can vary from one research to another. Due to this reason, one researcher may choose deductive approach and some researcher may choose inductive approach. Inductive approach can be based on understanding of the respondents of the research. It also provides a more flexible structure to any given research project in an effective manner. It can be deduced that the research is required to formulate an excellent understanding of the research project. On the contrary, deductive approach is based on scientific approach and it also helps to evaluate the relationships between several variables of the given research project (Fournier, 2007)

Justification for the selection of deductive approach

In the given case, the researcher has selected deductive approach to carry out the research in a scientific manner. In addition to this, it can be inferred that deductive approach goes hand in hand with positivism research paradigm. This is another reason, why the researcher has selected deductive research paradigm for the purpose of the research. Inductive approach is not applicable in the given case, as it will increase the complexity of the research based on several human interventions. These will further increase the feasibility of the research in an effective manner.

3.4.4 Research Design

The formulation of research design plays a crucial role for carrying out the research in an effective manner. The major forms of research designs are descriptive, exploratory and explanatory form of research. Descriptive design is used when the research wants to formulate a comprehensive study of the research in an effective manner. In addition to this, it can be deduced that descriptive design has a direct correlation with positivism research paradigm. Exploratory research design is used when the variables, aims and objectives of the research are not clear in the mind of the researcher. In that case, the given researcher can formulate several forms of peripheral information. In addition to this, the researcher to evaluate the cause-effect relationship of the given two variables of the research uses explanatory research.

3.4.4 Descriptive design-Justification

The researcher of this particular research has chosen descriptive design to evaluate a comprehensive study of the given research variables. This is further evaluated that the researcher will use both quantitative and qualitative mode of data collection for the purpose of the research. Due to this reason, descriptive research design has been selected. The other form of research can be considered as ineffective for the purpose of the research.

3.4.5 Sample size and sample population

The sample population that has been selected by the researcher is the customers of the organization E-Bay and the respective marketing managers of E-Bay. The total sample population that has been selected by the researcher is 100 customers and 10 managers of E-bay. It can be deduce that many of the customers and managers have failed to respond to the given questionnaire of the research. Due to this reason, the sample size of the customers was selected as 60 and sample size of the managers was taken as five. This has been considered to make the research feasible in an effective manner. In addition to this, the researcher has selected different forms of research sampling methods can be evaluated by the researcher for the purpose of effectiveness of the research.

In case of selection of the customers, the researcher has selected random probability mode of sampling method. This further infers that the sample size of the respondents will be selected on a random basis. This has been done to avoid any form of biasness from the respective respondents. In addition to this, it can be deduced that the researcher use the method of convenience non-probability to select the managers of the organization E-bay. This is mainly because, this criterion for convenience timing and availability of the managers has been considered by the respective researcher.

3.5 Data collection modes

In the given case, the researcher has selected both primary and secondary data to carry out the research in an effective manner. The secondary sources of data have been evaluated through the help of literature review. Primary data can be collected through the help of both quantitative data collection and qualitative data collection. Quantitative data has been collected from the given respondent customers and qualitative data has been collected from the managers of the organization E-bay. Ten quantitative questions is asked to the respondent customers and five qualitative questions has been asked to the respective managers of the organization E-bay.

The researcher has selected both forms of data collection to carry out the research in an effective manner. These modes of data collection are qualitative data collection and quantitative data collection. In case of quantitative data collection methods, the research has selected survey of online questionnaires to carry put the research in an effective manner. However, the researcher will also select qualitative mode of data collection to collect data for the managers through telephonic interviews.

3.6 Ethical considerations of the research

The researcher has carried out the research by keeping in mind by different ethical considerations. The researcher has accomplished all the elements of the research based on the rules and regulations of Data Protection Act, 2002. In addition to this, the researcher gave a proper explanation to all the respondents regarding the purpose and requirements of the respective research project. Apart from this, no respondents were forced by the researcher to participate in the process of the research. In addition to this, it can be also inferred that the researcher did not disclose any facts and information of the research to any other outside authorities. The data of the prospective researcher were also not used for any purposes that are commercial in nature. All the data that has been collected from both primary and secondary sources and there is no manipulation of data.

3.7 Summary

This chapter interprets about all the research paradigm, research approach and research design that has been selected by the researcher for the purpose of the research. Through the assist of the respective research methodology, the researcher can easily accomplish all the research objectives. The researcher based on the above research methodology will conduct the primary research analysis.

Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings

Introduction

This chapter will highlight about the all the findings and analysis from the primary data of questionnaire of the given respondents. Ten quantitative questions have been asked to the respective respondents of the customers and five qualitative questions have been asked to the managers of the organization E-Bay. All the quantitative questions are close-ended in nature and the qualitative questions are open-ended in nature. Based on the findings and analysis of the respective chapter, conclusions and recommendations will be undertaken.

Quantitative data collection

Question 1:  What is your gender?

Options	Percent	Responses	Total
Male	60	36	60
Female	40	24	60

Table 1: Gender of the respondents

The table and the graph reflect that among the 60 respondents, 60 percent of the respondents are male and 40 percent of the respondents are female. The respondent percentages of age are extremely close and it is will be tough task for the organization to segment its customers based on gender.

Question 2: What is your age?

Options	Percent	Responses	Total
18-25	41	25	60
26-30	25	20	60
31-39	16.67	10	60
40 and above	0.083	5	60

Table 2: Age of the respondents

From the above table, it is reflected that the researcher has evaluated and segmented the customers in accordance to their age. The table reflects that most of the given respondents are youths as 41 percent of the given respondents lie between the ages of 18-25. In addition to this, 25 percent of the given responses lie in the range of the age 26-30 years. Due to this reason, it is important for an e-commerce organization like E-bay to cater mainly the youths of the society effectively. In addition to this, the organization also requires to cater the given segments of youths in order to influence the respective buying process of the customers effectively.

Question 3: What are your frequencies of shopping online?

Options	Total numbers respondents	Number of respondents	Percentage of the total	Age wise
Extreme Frequent Basis	60	25	41.67%	Majority 18-28
Very much	60	10	16.67%	Majority 29-40
Neutral	60	5	0.83%	Mixed numbers
Not that often	60	10	16.67%	Majority 41-52
Dislike	60	10	16.67%	Majority 53-65

Table 3: Frequencies of shopping online

The above frequencies reflect that most of the customers shop from online e-commerce sites on a frequent basis. Almost 58 percent of the respondents have responded that they like to shop from online in accordance to their preferred e-commerce sites. From this, it can be further inferred that the demand pattern of respective e-commerce sites is on the higher side. It is an extreme positive side of the given organization E-bay as they can easily place and segment their products as the demand of the e-commerce products is on the higher side. This can further assist in the sustainability strategies of the respective e-commerce organization E-bay. There are few customers do not shop online on a frequent basis. This is an extreme positive side for the given e-commerce companies to utilize the tools of social media within their internal and external business environment. This is also as per with the theories and models discussed in the literature review of the research. In addition to this, it can be also deduced that one of the given research objectives is proved with the given findings and analysis of the research.

Question 4: How important do you think that the tool of social media for the respective e-commerce organization?

	Percent	Responses	Total
Strongly Agree	70	42	60
Agree	13.33333333	8	60
Neutral	6.666666667	4	60
Agree	3.333333333	2	60
Disagree	6.666666667	4	60

Table 4: Importance of social media for the respective e-commerce organization

Mean	1.633333333
Standard Error	0.15213484
Median	1
Mode	1
Standard Deviation	1.1784314
Sample Variance	1.388700565
Kurtosis	2.654624656
Skewness	1.918740272
Range	4
Minimum	1
Maximum	5
Sum	98
Count	60

Graph 4: Importance of social media for the respective e-commerce organization

The above table and graph reflects that all the given respondent customers have responded that they think that the platform of social media is important for their respective business organization. In addition to this, most of the respondents have strongly agreed about the importance of social media in terms of judging the demand pattern of the respective organizations. The level of standard deviation is less than one. This further suggests that the given responses of the responses are going in one direction. In addition to this, mode is equal to one. This further infers that all the responses are mostly responded in the option one that is strongly agree. This is at par with the theories and models discussed in the literature review. All the models evaluated in the literature review holds a great importance for the respective business organization. This is the main reason why, all the modern business organizations uses social network platform to attain their respective objectives.

Question 5: What are the several elements you consider while shopping online?

Factors to be considered while shopping online
Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
Quality	11.66666667	7	60
Price	25	15	60
Positive views from online customers	46.66666667	28	60
All of the above	16.66666667	10	60

Table 5: Factors to be considered while shopping online

Descriptive statistics
Median	3
Mode	3
Mean	2.683333333
Standard Error	0.115204722
Standard Deviation	0.892371942
Sample Variance	0.796327684

 

Graph 5: Factors to be considered while shopping online

The above table interprets that there are multiple factors that influence online buying behaviour of the customers while purchasing products from the different e-commerce organizations. Around 47 percent of the customers have responded that they buy products with regards from the positive views of the respective customers. 25 percent of the customers have responded that they buy products while considering prices of the e-commerce products. The rest of the responded customers have responded with the options of quality and all of the given options.  The given findings reflect that positive reviews from the customers play the most important factor while buying products from e-commerce sites. In addition to this, the descriptive statistics of the given responses reflects that the mean and the mode of the data is on the higher side and it reflects that the customers are more tilted towards positive views from the online given customers. In addition to this, the variance and the standard deviation are on the lower side. It also reflects that most of the responses of the responses are going on one direction. This is the major reason why the management of the organization of E-bay needs to create a positive buzz in the social media market. In addition to this, the organization also requires to utilize this positive buzz in increasing customer base effectively. This is also reflected from the descriptive statistics of the responses of the given questionnaire.  

Question 6 What are the various types of problems faced by you while shopping online?

Problems faced by the customers while shopping online
Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
Lack of touching the respective products	16.66666667	10	60
Less service quality	41.66666667	25	60
Post sales service	25	15	60
The online reviews may vary by a large extent	16.66666667	10	60

Table 6: Problems faced by the customers while shopping online

Median	2
Mean	2.416666667
Standard Error	0.124173349
Mode	2
Sample Variance	0.925141243
Minimum	1
Standard Deviation	0.961842629
Maximum	4
Sum	145
Count	60

Descriptive Statistics Table

Graph 6: Problems faced by the customers while shopping online

The respondents of the given question have responded that the service quality of the respective products of the e-commerce organizations is the major challenge that is faced by the customers while shopping online. From this, it is further deduced that the given e-commerce business organizations needs to focus on the quality of service of the products in order to influence the demand pattern for the respective products. In addition to this, the standard deviation of the given responses is less than one and close to one. This further infers that all the responses are not scattered, but going on one direction. Almost 17 percent of the responses responded that they face a several challenge to judge and differentiate with the products due to multiple amounts of variances of reviews of the products given by online customers.  In addition to this, the standard error of the responses is also on the lower side. This further infers that there are various reviews of the products given by different online customers. In addition to this, the e-commerce organizations like E-bay needs to incur a positive review from their prospective customers through social media marketing. If the different e-commerce organizations is successful in implementing and minimizing the respective variances of the products, then, the sustainability of the respective products can be strengthen effectively. The interpretation from the table of descriptive statistics reflects the same.

Question 7 Which one do you prefer-online shopping or offline shopping?

Preference mode of shopping of the customers
Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
Online shopping	58.33333333	35	60
Offline shopping	41.66666667	25	60

Table 7: Preference mode of shopping of the customers

Mean	1.416666667
Median	1
Standard Deviation	0.497167116
Sample Variance	0.247175141
Mode	1
Sum	85
Count	60

 

Graph 7: Preference mode of shopping of the customers

The above table and graph throws light upon the preferences of the customers when it comes to shopping of the customers. From here, it is deduced that almost 59 percent of the customers prefers to shop online rather than to shop offline. In addition to this, it is an extreme positive sign for the given e-commerce organizations as the demand pattern of online customers are on the higher side. Due to this reason, all the respective e-commerce organizations needs to implement all the platform of social media to promote their respective products and services in an effective manner. This is also reflected from the analysis of the descriptive analysis table. In addition to this, the standard deviation and variances of the responses are also on the lower side. This is another positive sign for all the given e-commerce organizations. The e-commerce organization E-bay is required to use this positive demand pattern in a positive manner. This will assist them to attain their goals. In addition to their, the demand pattern and buying pattern of the customers has a direct correlation. On the contrary, the rest 42 percent of the responded customers preferred offline shopping rather than online shopping. The e-commerce organizations must analyze all reasons behind the preferences of these customers while choosing offline mode of customers.

Question 8: Do you prefer to buy products from review of various social networking sites?

Preference to buy products from review of various social networking sites
Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
Yes	66.66666667	40	60
No	25	15	60
Cannot say	8.333333333	5	60

Table 8: Preference to buy products from review of various social networking sites

Descriptive statistics of Preference to buy products from review of various social networking sites
Median	1
Mode	1
Standard Deviation	0.645497224
Sample Variance	0.416666667
Standard Error	0.083333333

Descriptive analysis of Preference to buy products from review of various social networking sites

Graph 8: Preference to buy products from review of various social networking sites

Almost 67 percent of the respondent customers responded that they prefer to buy products from various reviews from the several social networking sites. Around 25 percent of the responded customers, they do not prefer to purchase products from the various reviews of the social sites. All the modern e-commerce organizations like E-bay must analyze the techniques of social media marketing in order to increase the positive responses of the customers. The e-commerce organizations also need to give more importance to the various reviews of the customers in a positive manner. In addition to this, it can also be considered as a good sign for the respective organizations as they can improve their products and services based on the respective feedback of the customers. Apart from this, if the responses of the given customers are negative, then the sustainability of the respective organization can be questioned. For this reason, it is of crucial importance for the respective e-commerce organizations to analyze all the respective feedback of the customers and respond in accordance to that.

Question 9: How far do you rate the online shopping forms from different e-commerce sites?

Rating of your online shopping from the different e-commerce sites
Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
Extremely positive	58.33333333	35	60
Positive	16.66666667	10	60
Neutral	8.333333333	5	60
Negative	6.666666667	4	60
Strongly negative	10	6	60

Table 9: Rating of your online shopping from the different e-commerce sites

Rating of your online shopping from the different e-commerce sites
Median	1
Mode	1
Standard Deviation	1.363776743
Sample Variance	1.859887006
Mean	1.933333333
Standard Error	0.17606282

Descriptive statistics table

Graph 9: Rating of your online shopping from the different e-commerce sites

This primary data question has a great value for this respective purpose of the research. It reflects that the responses of the respondents are extremely positive when it comes to preference to buy products based on the respected review of various social networking sites. It reflects that 59 percent of the respondents have responded with the option of extremely positive. In addition to this, approximately 17 percent of the customers have positively responded that they buy products based upon various reviews. However, around 8 percent of the respondents have remained neutral from giving any kind of responses. In addition to this, it also reflects since the standard error and standard variances are on the lower side, therefore, the variation of the responses is low. This is a major reason why, most of the e-commerce organizations must create an extreme positive vive for their respective products and services. This will directly helped an e-commerce organization like E-bay to increase its customer base effectively. Apart from this, all the respective e-commerce organizations can utilize this positive demand of the e-commerce markets. The above responses can also improve if the e-commerce organizations can improve their mode of customer engagement through social networking. In addition to this, since standard deviation is on the higher side, therefore, the variances among the responses are higher. Therefore, the organizations can opt for various forms of strategic tools in order to influence te shopping pattern of the respective customers.

Question 10: What recommendations can be given to the e-commerce organization to influence your buying behaviour of online products?

Recommendations to the e-commerce organization to influence the buying behavior of online products
				Options	Total percentage	Number of respondents responded	Total numbers respondents
				Effective modes of penetrating  social media network advertisement	25	15	60
				More engagement with the customers	25	15	60
Viral marketing in social media	8.33333	5	60
All of the above	8.33333	35	60

Table 10: Recommendations to the e-commerce organization to influence the buying behavior of online products

Graph 10: Recommendations to the e-commerce organization to influence the buying behavior of online products

All the above elements and attributes can be recommended to the respective e-commerce organization E-bay. The respective e-commerce organizations can use effective tools penetrating social media advertisement in order to influence the buying pattern of the customers and demand pattern of their respective products. In addition to this, the e-commerce organization can also opt for strategies more engagement with the customers through the platform of social media. In response to the given question, 25 percent of the customers answered in favor of social penetration marketing and others have answered in favor of engagement of the respective customers. The rest have answered in the favor of viral marketing tools and others have answered in favor of all of the above. It reflects that all the modern to e-commerce organizations to implement all the given tools and strategies. If the organization is successful in the implementation of these strategies, then, they can easily match the requirements of all the customers. In addition to this, the e-commerce organizations can implement the theory and model of social penetration and honey and comb model in order to engage with the customers effectively. This is in accordance to the given models interpreted in the literature review of the research. Further, based on the given findings and analysis the researcher of the research will give various recommendations effectively.

Qualitative data collection

Question 1: How often do your organizations implement tools and techniques of social media marking?

The first manager responded that the organization E-Bay implements several tools of social media marketing in an effective manner. In addition to this, the organization effectively uses the platform of face book, twitter, LinkedIn to judge the consumer buying behaviour and demand pattern of the respective products. The organization is a multi-national organization and due to this reason, it is important for the organization to cater a wide range of customers. In addition to this, the reach of social media is huge and caters the whole segment of the world markets. For this reason, it is of great essence for E-Bay to use this tool effectively. The organization has a wide presence through all the respective platforms of the organizations. Apart from this, the organization also takes the feedback of its respective customers through the help of social media tools and techniques. This feedback has been taken in the form of respective products of the organization. Such products can be in the form of both old and new form of existing products. On the other hand, the sales executives of the organization also take feedback from their respective customers through the platform of social media. Apart from this, the tools of social media also help the organization to segment their customers throughout the whole world. In addition to this, the organization can analyze the traffic of the customers in terms of demographic and psychographic behaviour of the customers.

Question 2: What is the importance of the judging consumer buying process and demand patterns for your organization?

The second manager responded that, in this competitive world of business environment, it is of great essence for the organization to judge the behaviour of the customers in accordance to the demand pattern of their respective products and services. The organization E-Bay analyses the behaviour of the prospective customers through effective use of social media platforms of Face book, twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Different customers who visit the websites of the e-commerce organizations have different choices. It is important for the respective organization to analyze the preference of the customers and take strategic measures in accordance to that. In addition to this, the organization E-Bay knows the importance to analyzing the demand patterns and customer behaviour process effectively. For this reason, the organization caters and implements all the tools and techniques of social media to categorize the pattern of buying and attitude of the respective customers. Adding to this, the organization divides its products and services, as per seasonal demand, regular demand, yearly demand and monthly demands. In case of seasonal demand products, the organization follows an effective discounting pricing policy to influence the behaviour of the customers. The organization monitors the demand pattern for all its products to keep their products sustainable in nature. Therefore, consumer buying process and demand patterns hold a great importance for the respective organizations.

Question 3- What challenges do you face in the implementation of the tools of social media to analyze the buying behaviour of your respective organizations?

The third manager responded that the organization faces several challenges to analyze the behaviour of consumers and demand patterns of their products and services. Many customers visit the website of the respective e-commerce organizations just for passing time and not for any kind of shopping. It is a challenging and uphill task for all the organizations to categorize and segment the behaviour of such of kind of customers effectively. Apart from this, due to vast nature of the several social networking tools, the organization faces several issues in terms of psychographic behaviour of the customers. Since, E-bay is a multinational organization, therefore, it is challenging task for it to meet the requirements of all the demand of the customers throughout the different world. This is mainly because; different customer choices may vary in terms of their locality and culture. It is not possible for the organization E-Bay to meet the requirements of all the customers of different culture and locality. The manager has also responded in terms of the huge range of the social media world. Since its range is high, therefore, it is of great difficulty of the organization to ensure the demand pattern and customer buying pattern through responses from social media. These are the major challenges organization E-Bay faces in terms of implementation of the tools of social media to analyze the buying behaviour

Question 4- What are the plans for the organization in terms of implementation of social media tools?

The forth manager responded that the organization E-Bay has several plans in terms of implementing the tools of social media in a more effective manner. In addition to this, the top-management of the organization will take several steps to reach out directly to the customers with tools like video calling, MySpace, etc. This will further help the organization to cater all kinds of people effectively. The organization will use different networking tools for different segments of customers. This will help the organization to segment the buying behaviour of their prospective customers effectively. If the organization is successful in the implementation of these tools, then, they can attain their long-term objectives effectively.

Summary

From the above analysis of the given findings of the primary research analysis, it is inferred that the tools and techniques of social media play an effective role in the given e-commerce industries like E-bay. In addition to this, all the respondent customers have responded that they shop on the frequent basis from their respective e-commerce sites. In addition to this, the managers of the organization have responded that they implement all the tools of social media within their system.

Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations

Conclusion

This chapter will throw light on the interpretations of the findings and analysis of the researcher. With reference to that, the researcher will successfully link the above findings with the respective research objectives. From the above findings and conclusion, it can be deduced that the all the tools and techniques of social media have a great impact in the overall e-commerce industry of United Kingdom. In addition to this, the organization E-Bay will be highly benefited with effective implementation of the platform of social media. The youth of the society have a great tendency in buying online products. Therefore, the organization E-bay needs to cater the youths of the society in order to improve their business in a sustainable manner. The respondents of the primary research analysis reflect that the buying behaviour and demand pattern of the customers is extremely influenced by effective utilization of the respective tools of social media.

Linking with the objectives

Objective 1- To investigate about the overall impact of social media on different e-commerce business organizations

From the quantitative data analysis and qualitative data analysis, the researcher interpreted that the platform of social media has a positive impact on the e-commerce organizations like E-bay. In addition to this, from the various models interpreted from the literature review it is interpreted that all the tools and techniques used in the platform of social media has a considerable impact on the present e-commerce organizations. All the modern e-commerce organizations implement this form of tool effectively to cater customers of all ages. In addition to this, there is a great buzz of social media among the young respondents. Due to this reason, the organization E-Bay needs to use social media as an effective platform to gain a formidable position in the market. The organization can also launch new products through the given platform of social media. The researcher also achieves the first objective of the research.

Objective 2- To analyze the importance of analyzing the buying behaviour of the customers

From the literature review, it can be seen that consumer buying behaviour is a complex process and it is of great essence for the respective business organization E-bay to analyze the behaviour of their prospective customers. The youth of the society prefers shopping online to the other sections of the society. The satisfaction level of both males and females is on the higher side and due to this reason; it will be a difficult task for the organization in order to analyze the buying behaviour in terms of gender of their prospective customers. From quantitative data analysis, it is seen that almost 80 percent of the respondent customers shop online. Due to this reason, the organization needs to solve all the issues of consumer behaviour model and judge the behaviour of the prospective customers. If the organization E-bay fails to judge and analyze the buying process of the customers then the profit share and market share of the organization will decline. Several elements influence the customer buying process. These elements are quality of the product, price of the products and savings of the respective customers in terms of online buying behaviour. Due to this reason, the organization needs to implement all the given elements to judge the behaviour of the customer buying behaviour process. The researcher also achieves this second objective of the research.

Objective 3- To evaluate the impact of social media of the buying pattern of the respective customers

From the literature review and primary research of quantitative and qualitative data analysis, it is deduced that all the tools and techniques of social media influences the buying pattern of the respective customers. This is mainly because, the platform of social media is the most fastest and effective tool of communication system of the different customers across the globe. The e-commerce business organization can cater many customers all across the globe. All the different customers may be attracted towards the given product of the respective company due to the buzz created in the social media market. The buying decision of the customers can be also influenced due to enormous mode of customers in the market. On the contrary, if there is a negative buzz of the product in the market, then that particular organization may also lose effective number of customer to achieve their strategic goals of business. In addition to this, the tool of social media can be considered as effective in terms of advertising its products and services. This is the main reason why all the organizations incorporate all the tools and techniques of social media in an effective manner. Apart from this, all the respective pattern of the customers can be segmented in an effective manner. From this, it is deduced that the researcher of the research has successfully achieved the third research objective effectively.

Objective 4- To give recommendations to the different e-commerce sites regarding the influence of buying behaviour on the behaviour of the customers

From the literature review and primary research analysis, the researcher is successful to give recommendations to the respective business organizations. All the recommendations have been given based on the loopholes of the literature review and findings from the data of the secondary research analysis. All the given recommendations are in the form of proper and effective implementation of the tool of social media. In addition to this, the researcher has suggested the organization to create an effective buzz through the help of social media marketing. From here, it is inferred that the researcher has effective attained the final objective of the research.

Recommendations

Several recommendations can be given to the organization based on the findings of the primary and secondary data analysis. These can be in the form of effect utilization of social media. These are as follows:-

Measurement

The organization E-bay is required to measure all the given techniques of social media planning within their e-commerce business model. With an effective measurement technique, the organization can easily measure the tools of consumer behaviour and demand pattern of its respective products and services. In addition to this, it is also importance for the management of the E-Commerce business organization E-bay to measure all effectiveness of their analysis of customer buying model.

Monitoring

The management of the organization E-bay also requires monitoring all the growth and elements of the organization in terms of social media marketing. If the growth of the organization is monitored in an effective and timely manner, then, the organization can easily measure all the variances of social media marketing effectively.

Strategic planning

The management of the organization E-Bay needs to improvise all the tools of strategic planning within their system. These given techniques of strategic planning needs to be in accordance to social media planning and social media marketing effectively. In addition to this, all the given tools and techniques will aim to create a product awareness in the social media market. If the organization is highly successful to create a positive buzz in the social media market, then, the organization will be successful to influence the buying behaviour of the customers through social media marketing. This can be done with effective utilization of strategic planning tools and techniques.

Proper engagement with the customers

It is important for all the modern business e-commerce organizations to engage with their prospective customers effectively. These can only be done with various social networking sites. If the organization can effectively engage and communicate with the respective prospective customers, then, the level of customer satisfaction will be on the higher side. This will further help to increase the demand pattern of the products for online customers. If the customers are engaged, then, the organization can easily penetrate their products effectively.

Limitations

There are more than a few limitations in the overall process of the research. These limitations can be evaluated with the help of analysis of the research. One of the biggest limitations of the project is in terms of variances of cost and time. Due to lack of time and cost, the researcher could not conduct an in-depth analysis of the research. In addition to this, the researcher could not collect accurate data from the entire targeted population. Due to the reason why, the researcher has not successfully evaluated the entire attributes of the research.

The researcher has evaluated the research based on cross-sectional basis rather than longitudinal basis. This is the main reason why not all the elements and attributes of the research have been successfully analyzed by the respective researcher.

Future scope of research

There are several scopes of future research projects. The findings and analysis of this research aspect can be used as a secondary source of data by several future researchers. In addition to this, the future researchers can evaluate all the different aspects of social media marketing on e-commerce industries on a different segment of United Kingdom. In addition to this, future researchers can conduct the research based on a longitudinal analysis.

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