Online and Offline Networks: Social Media Usage within the Hungarian Wine SMEs

Abstract

Social media technologies become mainstream, modify personal relationships and generate new opportunities for knowledge sharing and facilitating collaboration. Most of the people use these tools to develop personal networks, gather information or manage business processes, communication and marketing. As a result organizations are finding the way to integrate social media into the essential infrastructure of their business strategy. The region of Balaton is the second most popular tourist destination in Hungary, so the sustainable development and the collaboration of its enterprises are essential. The purpose of the research is to explore the networks of the wineries, gastronomy units and start-ups of the Balaton Uplands, and to explore the characteristics of knowledge-based networking (social media) tools. The selection criteria includes the age of the organizations, the size (number of employees) and generational differences. Qualitative research methodologies are applied as it seeks to acquire deeper and more subtle knowledge for some selected businesses. The qualitative research uses the case study methodology. This paper explains the whole research process by exhibiting research questions, hypothesis and the research model and shows the summery of the first 2 case studies.