| dc.description.abstract | Comparing to traditional media channels, social media is more efficient to reach a broader audience and is able to provide more interactive features for the customers. Hence, how to manage social media efficiently has become an important issue for enterprises. Although past studies usually investigated this issue from the perspective of performance indicators, this study applied the approach of Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate the social media performance from the view point of efficiency. To illustrate the practicability of the proposed approach, this study also investigated 15 major U.S. retail companies for their social media efficiencies on Facebook. Based on the findings of overall efficiency analysis, virtual multiplier analysis, slack variable analysis, projection analysis, sensitivity analysis and Malmquist Productivity Index, major retail companies can understand their production efficiency, technical efficiency, and scale efficiency on Facebook. In terms of production efficiency, there are 6 relatively efficient retailers, which include Walmart, Kroger, Target, Costco, Amazon.com and Macy’s. Besides, 9 retailers are relatively efficient in technical efficiency. Only 6 retailers have relatively efficient in terms of scale efficiency, which means rest of the retailers must change the scale of operations of social media to get the best of marginal benefit. Accordingly, inefficient retail companies can refer the findings of this study to allocate their resources on Facebook more efficiently. | en_US |