Micro-Blogging Adoption in the Enterprise: An Empirical Analysis

Given the increasing interest in using social software forcompany-internal communication and collaboration, this paperexamines drivers and inhibitors of micro-blogging adoption at theworkplace. While nearly one in two companies is currentlyplanning to introduce social software, there is no empiricallyvalidated research on employees’ adoption. In this paper, we buildon previous focus group results and test our research model in anempirical study using Structural Equation Modeling. Based on ourfindings, we derive recommendations on how to foster adoption.We suggest that micro-blogging should be presented to employeesas an efficient means of communication, personal brand building,and knowledge management. In order to particularly promotecontent contribution, privacy concerns should be eased by settingclear rules on who has access to postings and for how long theywill be archived

Web 2.0 and micro-businesses: An exploratory investigation

This is the author's final version of the article. This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.This article was chosen as a Highly Commended Award Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2013.Purpose – The paper aims to report on an exploratory study into how small businesses use Web 2.0 information and communication technologies (ICT) to work collaboratively with other small businesses. The study had two aims: to investigate the benefits available from the use of Web 2.0 in small business collaborations, and to characterize the different types of such online collaborations. Design/methodology/approach – The research uses a qualitative case study methodology based on semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers of 12 UK-based small companies in the business services sector who are early adopters of Web 2.0 technologies. Findings – Benefits from the use of Web 2.0 are categorized as lifestyle benefits, internal operational efficiency, enhanced capability, external communications and enhanced service offerings. A 2×2 framework is developed to categorize small business collaborations using the dimensions of the basis for inter-organizational collaboration (control vs cooperation) and the level of Web 2.0 ICT use (simple vs sophisticated). Research limitations/implications – A small number of firms of similar size, sector and location were studied, which limits generalizability. Nonetheless, the results offer a pointer to the likely future use of Web 2.0 tools by other small businesses. Practical implications – The research provides evidence of the attraction and potential of Web 2.0 for collaborations between small businesses. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first to report on use of Web 2.0 ICT in collaborative working between small businesses. It will be of interest to those seeking a better understanding of the potential of Web 2.0 in the small business community.WestFocu

Continued Use Of Intra-Organizational Blogs: Impacts Of Habits, Network Externalities, And Ranking

Enterprise 2.0 applications, such as blogging systems, are increasingly prevailing in corporate contexts. As intra-organizational blogs are expected to provide a new approaching to building a flexible intra-organizational networking platform which could effectively facilitate knowledge sharing, it is worthwhile to address why and how the employees may accept a blogging system and keep blogging continually. Drawing upon the existing literature, this paper proposes a conceptual model which suggests that the continued use of internal blogging among employees is jointly driven by the forces of habituation and network externalities, while these forces can be shaped by managerial incentives such as a ranking mechanism. To empirically test the proposed model, actual usage data are collected from the internal blogging platform of a large Chinese company, so as to measure all the related constructs. Statistical results from a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis illustrate that the model effectively explains the continued use of corporate internal blogging systems. By using the actual record data obtained from an in-practice system, our study manages to avoid the self-report bias which inevitably perplexes conventional survey-based research. We believe that the findings of this paper would contribute to the literature of Enterprise 2.0 user behavior on both theoretical and methodological perspectives, while providing helpful practical insights for better promoting the use of blogging systems in corporate contexts

Informal eCollaboration Channels: Shedding Light on “Shadow CIT”

There is some evidence of the unabated proliferation of employee-autonomous, informal in an enterprise sense, collaborative information technologies (CITs) to perform collaborative activities despite huge investments in CIT enterprise systems. This article will introduce the metaphorical construct of “shadow CIT” (similar to “shadow IT” – Raden, 2005; Schaffner, 2007) to describe the strategic choice to use autonomous CITs instead of formal enterprise CITs. “Shadow IT” has been defined by Raden (2005) as a set of IT tools used “for performing IT functions but not part of the mainstream IT organization” (p.1). Similarly, “shadow CIT” solutions are employee-autonomous: they are not implemented as part of the organisational IT infrastructure, neither have they received any targeted organisational investment. Several research questions are explored in this paper. The existence of “shadow IT” has been argued to imply a failure on the part of enterprise IT to provide all of the services to meet their users‟ needs. Does the existence of “shadow CIT” imply a failure of enterprise CITs of a similar kind? If shadow CITs are found to be [capable of] filling gaps within enterprise CITs, what kind of gaps are these? Often, without being able to articulate why, users appear to shun solutions and good architecture within enterprise CITs in favour of the ability to get their work done through autonomous “shadow” solutions. What kind of motivation may be driving such decisions

A study on knowledge quality and job performance of knowledge workers by analyzing content of social network sites using sentiment network analysis

The importance of knowledge quality has become a key research area in recent research works. Many organizations realize that benefits of knowledge creation and sharing cannot be obtained unless quality of knowledge is achieved. This research investigates the perception of knowledge workers that uses social network sites as a means for social interaction, collaboration and knowledge sharing. The entries posted by these knowledge workers on the social network sites are gathered and studied with the presence of the element of sentiment such as emotion using sentiment network analysis. Based on the analysis, the results investigate the relationship between sentiment and quality of knowledge shared among knowledge workers on social networking sites and individual job performance. This research will analyse the improvements of employees’ job performance through the quality knowledge using interview, questionnaire survey, and text analysis to look for conversational patterns and element of sentiment. This research will investigate a number of knowledge driven companies that use social network sites. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is used to analyse responses collected from survey data

A Study on Knowledge Quality and Job Performance of Knowledge Workers by Analyzing Content of Social Network Sites Using Sentiment Network Analysis

The importance of knowledge quality has become a key research area in recent research works. Many organizations realize that benefits of knowledge creation and sharing cannot be obtained unless quality of knowledge is achieved. This research investigates the perception of knowledge workers that uses social network sites as a means for social interaction, collaboration and knowledge sharing. The entries posted by these knowledge workers on the social network sites are gathered and studied with the presence of the element of sentiment such as emotion using sentiment network analysis. Based on the analysis, the results investigate the relationship between sentiment and quality of knowledge shared among knowledge workers on social networking sites and individual job performance. This research will analyse the improvements of employees’ job performance through the quality knowledge using interview, questionnaire survey, and text analysis to look for conversational patterns and element of sentiment. This research will investigate a number of knowledge driven companies that use social network sites. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) is used to analyse responses collected from survey data

Factors affecting student adoption of microblogging tools: A test of competing models

As new technologies develop, educators explore the feasibility of using these technologies to improve learning. Micro-blogging is one such technology. Given the propensity of students to use micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, it is important to understand whether these technologies would be adopted by students for educational use. This study explores whether students will adopt twitter as a supplemental learning tool. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has be used extensively to understand adoption but it has been criticized for being too parsimonious to generalize across gender and culture. An alternate model, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) has since been proposed to address this failing. Hence, in this study, two competing models were tested using two samples: a sample of US students and a sample of female Qatari students. Hence, the study will not only inform practice by providing information about a potential educational delivery method, it will provide additional evidence on the generalizability of studies based on these two models of technology adoption

Advances in Social Media Research:Past, Present and Future

Social media comprises communication websites that facilitate relationship forming between users from diverse backgrounds, resulting in a rich social structure. User generated content encourages inquiry and decision-making. Given the relevance of social media to various stakeholders, it has received significant attention from researchers of various fields, including information systems. There exists no comprehensive review that integrates and synthesises the findings of literature on social media. This study discusses the findings of 132 papers (in selected IS journals) on social media and social networking published between 1997 and 2017. Most papers reviewed here examine the behavioural side of social media, investigate the aspect of reviews and recommendations, and study its integration for organizational purposes. Furthermore, many studies have investigated the viability of online communities/social media as a marketing medium, while others have explored various aspects of social media, including the risks associated with its use, the value that it creates, and the negative stigma attached to it within workplaces. The use of social media for information sharing during critical events as well as for seeking and/or rendering help has also been investigated in prior research. Other contexts include political and public administration, and the comparison between traditional and social media. Overall, our study identifies multiple emergent themes in the existing corpus, thereby furthering our understanding of advances in social media research. The integrated view of the extant literature that our study presents can help avoid duplication by future researchers, whilst offering fruitful lines of enquiry to help shape research for this emerging field