46 International Journal of Virtual Communities and Social Networking, 4(1), 46-60, January-March 2012 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: Business Impacts, Marketing, Social Media, Social Network Sites (SNSs), Social Networking INTRODUCTION The growing importance and role of web-based technologies in supporting firm operations is widely acknowledged both by practitioners and academics (Hanafizadeh, Hanafizadeh, & Khodabakhshi, 2010). One of the new web bases technologies emerged recently is social media. Social media can be defined as online applications, platforms and media which aim A Literature Review on the Business Impacts of Social Network Sites Payam Hanaizadeh, School of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Ahad Zare Ravasan, School of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Ali Nabavi, School of Management and Accounting, Allemeh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Mehrabioun, School of Management and Accounting, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran ABSTRACT Social network sites (SNSs) such as MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube have attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated these sites into their daily practices. There are hundreds of SNSs, with various technological affordances, supporting a wide range of interests and practices. However, the impact of SNSs is increasingly pervasive, with activities ranging from economic and marketing to social and educational. Among the wide impacts of social network sites, they are, anecdotally, becoming increasingly important in today’s businesses. Thus, the purpose of this study is to present a literature review of and classiication scheme for research works in business impacts of SNSs, with the aim of clarifying the ways SNSs impact businesses. The review covers 28 journal articles published from 2000 to 2011 and a few months of 2012. The 28 ar- ticles classiied SNS applications in businesses into six distinct categories: the “marketing and advertising,” “knowledge management,” “social capital,” “relationship management,” “e-commerce,” and “economic model.” The indings reveal that “marketing and advertising” were the most frequently category has been considered in the literature. This review provides a source for discovering business impacts of social network sites and will help to simulate further interest in the area. DOI: 10.4018/jvcsn.2012010104