Examining the impact of social media usage on the performance of financial institutions in Zimbabwe: a case study of First Capital Bank of Zimbabwe (2010-2021) · Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author

Kasawaya, Talkmore.

Title

Examining the impact of social media usage on the performance of financial institutions in Zimbabwe: a case study of First Capital Bank of Zimbabwe (2010-2021)

Abstract

Traditional banking practices are rapidly being challenged by Social media usage in financial institutions across the globe. In contrast, some scholars believe that social media can destroy a brand due to negative comments which creates a negative perception from customers among other disadvantages. Therefore the study was aimed at examining the impact of social media usage on the performance of financial institutions in Zimbabwe from 2010 to 2021. The topic on social media usage has been extensively researched in other parts of the world rather than the Zimbabwean setup thus the research was carried out based on the case study of First Capital bank of Zimbabwe to cover this research gap. Objectives of the study were; to identify the social media tools used by First Capital bank to improve its performance, to investigate the benefits and challenges brought about by social media usage, assess the effectiveness of utilising social media platforms on service improvement, to explore the bank’s management strategies adopted in-order to incorporate social media usage in confronting day to day challenges. To achieve these objectives, the researcher utilised qualitative methodology approach to gather relevant data from First Capital Bank of Zimbabwe which was analysed using thematic analysis. The researcher made use of survey questionnaires and direct semi-structured interviews on the study sample of First Capital bank’s 9 employees and 10 clients selected using a stratified and purposive sampling technique. The study findings revealed that First Capital bank leveraged so much on social media rather than the traditional marketing communication channels and according to the bank’s clientele this has vastly improved its service delivery and turnaround times. Therefore the study concluded that incorporating social media in the business framework is key since there is indeed a positive relationship between social media usage and business performance. However social media usage is not all rosy therefore the study recommended that financial institutions must not shun traditional marketing channels but rather integrate both social media and other traditional marketing channels for extensive reach of all age groups.

Date

October 2022

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Traditional banking,

Social Media,

Supervisor

Mrs. Gwanzura,