Entrepreneurial Presence on Social Media Platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: Why Language Matters
Abstract: Seeking evidence on how the presence of a social media platform affects the performance of platform-based entrepreneurs in a developing country context, we conducted a field experiment among Zambian entrepreneurs to whom we provided a Facebook business page. To our surprise (and contra our hypotheses), we discovered that the existence of a social media platform reduces sales even though the platform increases market opportunities through wider market reach. Post hoc analyses revealed that the sales reduction was evident only in the case of language dissimilarity. This outcome, we argue, demonstrates that – in the context of a developing country – the highly adaptive nature of transaction processes requires high levels of comprehension so that the transaction conditions will be clearly communicated and understood, and adjusted accordingly. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how and why expanding information and communication technologies may disadvantage entrepreneurs looking to flourish in the context of a developing country.
Authors*
Egbert Amoncio (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)
Carolin Bock (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany)
Rajesh Ramachandran (Monash University, Malaysia)
Cornelia Storz (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)**
*Authors in alphabetical order. All authors have contributed equally to this work.
** Presenting author.
Short bio : Cornelia Storz is professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with focus on Japan/East Asia at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. Her research focuses on how incumbents and entrepreneurs innovate, how universities stimulate knowledge creation, and how organisations are facilitated by their institutional environment. Her works have been published in Research Policy, The Journal of Technology Transfer, Long Range Planning, Small Business Economics, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, Industry and Innovation, Socio-Economic Review, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Economics, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management. She was co-guest editor of a special issue on “Path Dependence and Emergence of New Industries” of Research Policy. Her research has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Volkswagen Foundation, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
In 2025, the Japanese government awarded Cornelia Storz the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun with Collar – Golden Rays in recognition of her exceptional contributions to fostering bilateral relations and international understanding between Germany and Japan.
Before joining the Goethe University Frankfurt, Cornelia Storz held academic positions at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the City University for Applied Sciences, Bremen, and the University of Marburg. She has also been a visiting professor at Osaka University, Japan, and a visiting scholar at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, California, and the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. Further, she has been invited as a visiting researcher to the RIETI (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry) at METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), Tokyo.
Authors*
Egbert Amoncio (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)
Carolin Bock (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany)
Rajesh Ramachandran (Monash University, Malaysia)
Cornelia Storz (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany)**
*Authors in alphabetical order. All authors have contributed equally to this work.
** Presenting author.
Short bio : Cornelia Storz is professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with focus on Japan/East Asia at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. Her research focuses on how incumbents and entrepreneurs innovate, how universities stimulate knowledge creation, and how organisations are facilitated by their institutional environment. Her works have been published in Research Policy, The Journal of Technology Transfer, Long Range Planning, Small Business Economics, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, Industry and Innovation, Socio-Economic Review, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Economics, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management. She was co-guest editor of a special issue on “Path Dependence and Emergence of New Industries” of Research Policy. Her research has been supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Volkswagen Foundation, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
In 2025, the Japanese government awarded Cornelia Storz the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun with Collar – Golden Rays in recognition of her exceptional contributions to fostering bilateral relations and international understanding between Germany and Japan.
Before joining the Goethe University Frankfurt, Cornelia Storz held academic positions at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the City University for Applied Sciences, Bremen, and the University of Marburg. She has also been a visiting professor at Osaka University, Japan, and a visiting scholar at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, California, and the Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo. Further, she has been invited as a visiting researcher to the RIETI (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry) at METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), Tokyo.
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