The dominance of social media has greatly changed the Irish Fashion Retail Industry and increased the necessity for fashion retailers to engage with consumers via this forum. This exploratory study examines the strategic management implications of social media specific to the Irish organisational context. This paper centres on the perceptions and attitudes of the management of a traditionally bricks and mortar fashion retailer to netiquette, negativity and customer engagement on social media. In particular it seeks to examine the influence of netiquette on social media management and engagement in the Irish Fashion Retail Industry. Considering the rapid development of social media and their penetration in business marketing actions, this paper is an exploratory step toward the ways firms utilize social media channels in the Irish Fashion Retail Industry. This paper adopts a qualitative methodology to explore the relationship between the organisational leadership perspective of control and the organisational dynamics perspective of chaos in relation to social media management. The research is primarily based on semi-structured interviews, and adopts principles of netnography for supporting content analysis. The findings of this research study show that all levels of management favour and impose an organisational leadership perspective in the management of netiquette, engagement and negativity on social media. The findings clearly point to the need for a balance of the strategic paradox of control and chaos in the management of social media by fashion retailers. By implementing and enforcing a considered and informed social media strategy, fashion retailers can control their brand reputation, and counteract chaotic instances of negativity on social media via social media. This study has found that if management in the Irish Fashion Retail Industry can overcome their fear of a blended organisational approach, they can become global leaders in effective social media management. The implications of this study highlight that exercising too much control in the management of netiquette and engagement on social media ultimately risks alienating existing and potential consumers. However, a purely chaotic approach that fails to implement and enforce policies surrounding social media practice can equally be damaging to the reputation of the fashion retailer. As such, the fashion retailer must devise a clear strategy for social media practice that allows for chaos and the opportunities that accompany it. This study provides value to management by showing that a chaotic environment is the one most important to management but yet a controlled environment is the one used in practice. Fashion retailers can strike the balance and therefore improve engagement with consumers and their customer service on social media. By implementing and enforcing a considered and informed social media strategy, fashion retailers can control their brand reputation, and counteract chaotic instances of negativity on social media via social media. The value is that if management can overcome their fear of a blended organisational approach, they can become global leaders in effective social media management.
