Social Media Utilization and Relationship Marketing Effectiveness in Resource-Constrained Food SMEs: Evidence from Bangladesh
Author
Hossen, Md Rakib
Term
4. Semester
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-01
Abstract
This thesis examines how owner-managed food SMEs in Bangladesh use Facebook to build and maintain customer relationships despite severe limits on time and attention. It is motivated by a mismatch between relationship marketing theory, which assumes continuous and personalized communication, and the operational realities of small, resource-constrained firms. The study asks two questions: (1) how owners experience and manage this tension in daily social media use, and (2) what practical strategies they develop under these constraints. Five Bengali-language semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom with food SME owners who personally manage their Facebook pages, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: continuous availability is unrealistic; personalization is attempted but uneven; responses are triaged by informal rules; and product quality drives repeat purchase while interaction supports acquisition and specific situations. Across cases, owners faced persistent relational overload, with interaction demands exceeding available attention, and responded by involving family members in communication, using automation and saved replies, prioritizing messages, and selectively investing personal effort in their most valued customers. Within this small sample, customer loyalty appeared to hinge more on product quality than on the frequency or depth of interaction. The thesis advances three preliminary propositions: relational overload is a boundary condition for relationship marketing assumptions; a triage portfolio model explains adapted practices in constrained settings; and a revised causal chain places product quality at the core with interaction in a supporting role. Practical implications are outlined for SME owners, policymakers, and social media platform designers, alongside limitations and directions for future research.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan ejerledede fødevare-SMV’er i Bangladesh bruger Facebook til at opbygge og vedligeholde kunderelationer, selv om deres tid og opmærksomhed er stærkt begrænsede. Udgangspunktet er et misforhold mellem relationel marketingteori, der forudsætter kontinuerlig og personlig kommunikation, og den driftsmæssige virkelighed i små virksomheder. Studiet stiller to spørgsmål: (1) hvordan ejere oplever og håndterer denne spænding i deres daglige brug af sociale medier, og (2) hvilke praktiske strategier de udvikler under disse begrænsninger. Fem semi-strukturerede interviews på bengali blev gennemført via Zoom med fødevare-SMV-ejere, som selv administrerer deres Facebook-sider, og data blev analyseret tematisk. Fire temaer fremkom: konstant tilgængelighed er urealistisk; personalisering forsøges men er ujævn; svar prioriteres efter uformelle regler; og produktkvalitet driver genkøb, mens interaktion især støtter rekruttering og særlige situationer. På tværs af casene arbejdede ejerne under vedvarende relationel overbelastning, hvor interaktionskrav oversteg tilgængelig opmærksomhed, og de reagerede ved at inddrage familie i kommunikationen, bruge automatisering og gemte svar, triagere beskeder og selektivt investere personlig indsats i de mest værdifulde kunder. I denne lille stikprøve syntes loyalitet primært at være forankret i produktkvalitet frem for interaktionens hyppighed eller dybde. Specialet fremsætter tre foreløbige forslag: relationel overbelastning fungerer som en grænsebetingelse for relationel marketing; en triage-porteføljemodel forklarer tilpasninger i ressourceknappe miljøer; og en revideret årsagskæde placerer produktkvalitet som det bærende led med interaktion som støtte. Der skitseres praktiske implikationer for virksomhedsejere, beslutningstagere og designere af sociale medieplatforme samt begrænsninger og forslag til videre forskning.
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