Social network and social commerce

A social network refers to a network of social interactions using various social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. This chapter will first explain various concepts of social commerce involving the use of social networks and then elaborate on the key characteristics of social commerce and will highlight how it is different from e-commerce. A discussion is included on the concept of cross-border social commerce and its specific characteristics. Further, this chapter examines the trends in social commerce adoption by companies to promote international sales and the related benefits and challenges. It also presents a discussion on the use of social networks to understand and influence cross-cultural consumer behaviour in social commerce. Additionally, this chapter explores how social commerce can specifically benefit SMEs and born global firms to reach a larger audience in foreign countries and includes a discussion on cross-border social commerce strategy for business.