Social media marketing: the impact of gender in the experience of Muslim entrepreneurs in the UK food industry

Social media an utmost prominence within few years of its presence. Historically, it is a marketing medium to socialise and several are impressed by the innovative advancement of communications developments specifically among food businesses by the social media channels. Social media has now become the necessity of every single firm and like internet; it has advanced the buying and selling procedure of both employer and customer. The paper explores Muslim entrepreneur’s perspective considering interconnected and overlapping factor of gender that have effects on both male and female entrepreneurs’ employment of social media marketing for their businesses in the UK. Opportunity-based theory of entrepreneurship is reviewed to provide the conceptual framework for this research paper. This study opted a mix-method approach and followed exploratory sequential research design to conduct the research. Data collection is in process through in-depth interviews with 20-25 Muslim male and female entrepreneurs as well as a questionnaire will be surveyed online from at least 200 Muslim entrepreneurs run businesses in the UK. Data analysis, preliminary findings and conclusions are not presented yet, as it is working research paper.