Determinants of Adoption of Social Media Marketing by Hospitals, in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

This study was purposed to investigate the determinants of adoption of social media marketing by hospitals in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Effective marketing communication is a critical function within any institution. Hospital marketers are increasingly trying to identify beneficial utilisation of social media and to justify the return on investment on marketing expenditures, showing an apparent relation to organisation's vision and business strategy. Despite these documented challenges, there is a lack of reported marketing data on social media adoption by hospitals in Kenya. The research objectives were to examine the effects of the organisation’s marketing purpose; social media technology use and attributes; end user or the marketer attributes; and the hospital’s business environment on the adoption of social media marketing by hospitals in Nairobi City County. The research further examined the moderating effect of hospital characteristics on the relationship between the independent variables and dependent variable. Survey and correlation research design was used to conduct the study. Due to the technical nature of the study 66 marketing officers in Nairobi City County as respondents. The respondents were sourced from a hospitals facilities list on the Kenya master health facility list website. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis including Cronbachs Alpha, Correlation, Regression and Analysis of Variance was done and results presented in tables, graphs and figures. Hypothesis testing using p-value approach was done to give the strength of the decision to accept or reject the null hypotheses. The findings revealed a statistically significant overall effect of marketing purpose, social media attributes, user attributes, the hospital business environment jointly on adoption of social media marketing. The results further revealed that individually, only hospitals business environment variable that did not have a statistically significant effect on adoption of social media marketing. Hospital characteristics had moderating effect on adoption of social media marketing. The results add to existing knowledge in the area of adoption of social media marketing by hospitals in Nairobi City County, Kenya, showing that there is a significant relationship between marketing purpose social media technology use and attributes, end user or the marketer attributes and hospitals business environment and adoption of social media. As a policy contribution, the findings give meaningful insight to publicity for hospitals and the healthcare industry on the determinants of adoption of social media marketing in strategic healthcare planning. Further, Kenya’s government positioning as a regional medical hub for medical tourism can benefit from these findings as social media is an essential tool in cross-border marketing. Thirdly, as a contribution to existing knowledge in marketing communications, word of mouth has been enabled by social media. Information on the web may not always be accurate, but it does tell listening marketers, that if they are to be part of the conversation in a meaningful way, then they should consider these determinants. Finally, in marketing management knowledge, the findings revealed these determinants not just as enablers of efficient utilisation of social media but as creating a clear connection between the organisation's social media marketing strategy towards achieving the business objectives and consequently the vision of the hospitals. The study recommends continued evaluation of the marketing plan in line with existing and emerging social media technology.