Social media networks such as Facebook were created relatively soon after the creation of the internet bringing with them what we know now as electronic interactions. Today more than 65 social media networks in USA along are part of our daily life. While these networks help us to be connected with friends and family, they also serve as communication channel for people all over the world. Word of mouth was previously transmitted only by face to face and direct interaction, now it has an electronic element also known as “electronic word of mouth” and within seconds people all around the world can share, now known as “post” their preferences about any product or service they are exposed to, and by doing so they influence the decision-making process of new potential buyers.
Thus, it is unknown yet how influential social media networks and electronic word of mouth can be and will be in the corporate purchasing decision making process, the purpose of this research is to investigate the factors associated with social media networks and electronic word of mouth context that relates to purchasing
decision making at the corporate level. This is important because it will among other things, help organizations and scholars to understand the benefits, risks and implications of social media and electronic word of mouth. A mixed method strategy will be used in this research due to its nature and its novelty. The study requires in-depth detailed insights as well as representative measurable data. It will focus first on the qualitative approach and based on that, design and address the quantitative approach. We will collect and analyze the qualitative data and
then use those results as the foundation for the quantitative phase.