The role of social media for entrepreneurs to drive financial and sustainability goals: a literature review

Entrepreneurs are key drivers for economic development and social change based on the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs). However, entrepreneurs often operate with limited resources and face a high failure rate. Social media platforms give entrepreneurs direct access to stakeholders globally to build a corporate reputation and raise visibility for their business and cause. As entrepreneurs can engage more freely on social media compared to risk-averse leaders of large publicly owned corporations, this offers an opportunity for entrepreneurs to compete with larger organizations and drive change on a global scale. With more entrepreneurs incorporating sustainability as part of their business model, the purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss how entrepreneurs use social media to drive their company’s financial and sustainability goals. The methodology is a literature review of studies in entrepreneurial marketing, global leadership, and digital brand building to serve as a foundation for future studies. The focus is on micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). Literature review findings suggested that a founder-led social media presence can be a competitive advantage for entrepreneurs to build corporate reputation and gain support for sustainable development goals. In addition, entrepreneurs use social media to start and finance their business. However, entrepreneurs are facing an increasingly fragmented social media landscape which makes it more challenging to select the best channels to engage stakeholders across different regions. More research is needed on emerging social media channels in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and South America.