Making of a social buyer: the role of knowledge capital authenticity and inter-firm communication in B2B sales situations

This study explores the mediating role of knowledge capital repository and inter-firm communication on the relationship between social media adoption by business-to-business (B2B) seller firms and the purchase intention of B2B buying centers. Adopting a qualitative approach for exploring the various components that capture the effect of social media on B2B buying. Our findings illustrate that several factors affect B2B customers' use of social media for procurement purposes, including factors from both the personal and organizational levels. Our study contributes to the understanding of the effects of social media adoption by seller firms on B2B buying, which has significant practical implications for marketing firms. Moreover, it is the first study to theorize the mediating impact of knowledge capital repository and inter-firm communication on the relationship between social media adoption by B2B firms and purchase intentions of B2B buying centers.