An Investigation of how Managers’ Mental Models of Business-Consumer Interaction Influence the Implementation and Use of Social Media

The paper empirically illustrates how mental models influence how managers implement social media in their businesses. we posit that managers’ use of social media is constrained by four mental models of business-consumer interaction and question the rational decision process that often is assumed to play a major part of introducing new technology. Based on twenty interviews with managers we identify four mental models,each of which uniquely influences how managers implement social media within the service and retailing industries.