Factors influencing adoption of Social Media Marketing in the Venetian agritourism sector (Italy)

Abstract

[eng] Veneto is one of the leading regions in Northern Italy (the most developed and productive area of the country) in terms of total number and growth rate of agritourism activities. In recent years, the development of the agritourism sector was affected by numerous changes, one of which is the emergence of social media platforms as marketing tools (“Social Media Marketing”). In fact, social media has become an essential instrument for marketers to promote their products or services and to communicate with their customers. The aim of this research was to investigate the determinants of Social Media Marketing adoption in the agritourism sector of Veneto, by applying the “Technological - Organizational - Environmental (TOE) Model” as a theoretical framework. The data were obtained through an online questionnaire with 5-point Likert scale questions, based on five TOE factors (Compatibility, Relative Advantage, Top Manaagement Support, Competitive Pressure and Customer Pressure), identified through prior IT adoption literature. The survey was administered to a population of 728 Venetian agritourisms and the collected data (from 182 respondents) were analyzed by SPSS Statistics 23 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences): descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation test, multicollinearity test and multiple linear regression analysis in conjunction with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that all of the considered variables have positive impacts on the adoption of SMM, but only two of them (Relative Advantage and Top Management Support) are significant factors. In the end, this study will be helpful for agritourism entreprenuers in defining and implementing more adequate marketing strategies via social media.