Factors Affecting the Success of Social Commerce in Kuwaiti Microbusinesses: A Qualitative Study

Many studies have focused on the adoption of social commerce (s-commerce) by customers but not by businesses or by microbusinesses. Further, they have investigated this adoption from a researcher's perspective while using quantitative approaches. To fill this gap, the study sheds light on the success of Instagram for microbusinesses (IMB) in an Arab country and highlights the need for more investigation in order to understand this complex phenomenon. In this study, the authors use a qualitative approach to 27 microbusiness cases that adopted Instagram for s-commerce. They use technological innovation theories to successfully identify and classify the drivers and inhibitors of success under different contexts. Hence, they find that the success of IMB in Kuwait is contingent on addressing different technological, organizational, and environmental challenges. Further, they find that Instagram initiatives are still evolving and still need assistance from different stakeholders to overcome several hurdles. This study provides different recommendations that advance the theory and practice.