The impact of Social Networking 2.0 on organisations
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470911004020 |
| Pages | 906-918 |
| Date | 13 November 2009 |
| Published date | 13 November 2009 |
| Author | Anria Sophia van Zyl |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The impact of Social Networking
2.0 on organisations
Anria Sophia van Zyl
Department of Accountancy, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch,
South Africa
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of what electronic social
networking encompasses. It also aims to educate IT, business decision makers, knowledge
workers and librarians about the various applications, benefits and risks associated with social
networking.
Design/methodology/approach – After a literature review of the available resources (academic
literature, journal articles, white papers, popular media and books) the benefits and perceived risks
associated with electronic social networking on organisations are investigated.
Findings – An individual’s success insociety depends on the shape and size of his/her social network
and ability to network and form connections with other social groups. Organisations which can
harness this innate human ability to manage knowledge will be able to lower transactions costs and
become more profitable.
Originality/value – The paper increases the understanding of what electronic social networking
encompasses and how it can be utilised for business purposes. The ideas and discussion put forth are
equally applicable to libraries and may give them new insights into the provision of social networking
applications as part of their services to users.
Keywords Social networks,Knowledge management, Communication technologies,
Computer applications, Electronic media,Risk management
Paper type Literature review
Introduction
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies the younger generation of internet users
is rewriting the rules of social interaction, and the way business is conducted. By
utilising electronic media and Web 2.0 tools such as Wiki’s, blogs, tagging and
social book-marking, new and ingenious methods of social interaction across
geographic borders and industry silos are being created (Fu et al., 2007; IBM,
2007).
In as little as five years this innovative electronic social application has crept into
the business domain. Many reasons have been cited for the popularity of electronic
social networking amongst office workers, with the most notable being the availability
of laptops, low cost internet access, working from home, and the increasing erosion of
traditional concepts of office hours (Shirky, 2008; Tapscott and Williams, 2006). During
2007 ClearSwift commissioned research to determine the extent to which social media
sites are being used (ClearSwift, 2007a). They found:
.83 per cent of US office workers used office resources to access social media;
.30 per cent of office workers in the USA and 42 per cent of UK office workers
admitted to discussing work-related issues via social media applications;
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
EL
27,6
906
Received 22 September 2008
Revised 28 November 2008
Accepted 11 December 2008
The Electronic Library
Vol. 27 No. 6, 2009
pp. 906-918
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640470911004020
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