LEVERAGING SOCIAL CAPITAL IN THE VIRTUAL WORK ENVIRONMENT - KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

2012 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Pahlke, Immanuel

Abstract: Collaboration in information-intensive work environments is enabled through info ... Expand

Abstract: Collaboration in information-intensive work environments is enabled through information systems that facilitate the information and knowledge exchange between collocated employees. As prior research suggests, social media platforms are a promising solution to realize electronic networks of practice bridging the gap between knowledge seeker and experts as a source of knowledge in an effective manner. To enhance the understanding of the social and structural characteristics that underlie employee’s interactions and how each individually benefit from participating in electronic networks of practice, we analyze the content of 15,505 enterprise microblogging messages created by 1,166 employees of a multi-national financial institution. Specifically, we explore how social capital is build up on an individual level and how individuals can leverage their central position with respect to knowledge improvements through faster message replies of a higher quality. Our study provides first insights on how knowledge exchange through social media is influenced by the different forms of social capital. The results stress the positive effect of social capital on individual’s information and knowledge reception as an important part of individual sensing capabilities. Thereby, we find empirical evidence that social media platforms can be utilized to facilitate collaboration and cooperative exchanges efficiently. Collapse

Topics: social capital information exchange social media social norm knowledge management

Methods: descriptive statistic chi squared test statistical hypothesis test regression analysis method generalized linear model

Theories: social capital theory theory of collective action