Unpackaging stakeholders’ motivation for participating in the social media of the higher education sector. A comparison of the European and US experience
| Published date | 11 November 2019 |
| Pages | 1151-1168 |
| Date | 11 November 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-09-2018-0273 |
| Author | Laura Saraite-Sariene,María del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez,Arturo Haro-de-Rosario,Carmen Caba-Perez |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Unpackaging stakeholders’
motivation for participating in the
social media of the higher
education sector
A comparison of the European and
US experience
Laura Saraite-Sariene, María del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez,
Arturo Haro-de-Rosario and Carmen Caba-Perez
Department of Economics and Business, University of Almeria, Almeria, Spain
Abstract
Purpose –Increasingly, universities are adopting social media as a strategy to improve their competitive
advantage. However, little is known of whether or not stakeholders are actually engaging with universities in
such online environments. The purpose of this paper is, first, to analyze the level of stakeholders’engagement
via social media, particularly Facebook, in European and US universities. Second, to examine the influencing
factors that boost online interactions, in particular, “location,”“transparency,”“size,”“academic performance”
and “activity.”
Design/methodology/approach –An engagement index and a multivariate regression analysis were
carried out. Regarding the sample, European and US universities belonging to the “Top 100”of the Academic
Ranking of World Universities were analyzed.
Findings –Despite the large online community that US universities possess, Europeanuniversities attain the
higher level of online engagement from its stakeholders. In particular, the greatest level of engagement is
achieved by European universities of greater size, in terms of students, with lower academic performance and
a lower level of online activity.
Social implications –This study contributes to existing literature by identifying the actual social impact of
social media to build successful relationships with the stakeholders of higher education entities.
Originality/value –This paper can contribute to the current scarcity of literature concerning social media to
improve new models of accountability in higher education entities with different managerial models.
Keywords Internet, Facebook, Social media, Stakeholders’online engagement
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Universities, as fundamental institutions of society, must maintain strong and lasting
relationships with their principal stakeholders in order to contribute at all levels of the
economy (Benneworth, 2013). Each group of citizens has its own demand due to the multiple
impact that universities have, both at an external (economic and social) and internal level
(research and transfer of knowledge) ( Jongbloed et al., 2008). In order to respond to the
demands of stakeholders, universities must demonstrate high levels of transparency
(Gallego-Alvarez et al., 2011) and attain a level of stakeholder engagement that allow them to
receive relevant feedback for continuous improvement (De Aguilera et al., 2010) in terms of
accountability and governability (Gallego-Alvarez et al., 2011).
The concept of engagement encompasses and facilitates two crucial aspects in the
survival of the organization: long-term relationships with its stakeholders and human
capital (Sashi, 2012; Taylor and Kent, 2014). Among its main features is the need to promote
the influence and guide the process of interactions between stakeholders, that is, to start and
build relationships (Taylor and Kent, 2014).
Online Information Review
Vol. 43 No. 7, 2019
pp. 1151-1168
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-09-2018-0273
Received 20 September 2018
Revised 1 April 2019
Accepted 12 August 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
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Unpackaging
stakeholders’
motivation
Hence, the use of bidirectional communication models between the university and its
main stakeholders are key to engage the universities’stakeholders in an effective and
efficient manner (De Aguilera et al., 2010). In addition, and as a consequence of the demands
of stakeholders, changes that require a transition from traditional media to newer models
are based on the new ICTs. However, this change is not easy to carry out due to the highly
bureaucratic nature and complexity of these institutions (Constantinides and Zinck Stagno,
2011) which are dependent on the socio-political landscape (De Aguilera et al., 2010).
Paniagua and Gómez (2012) note that social media permits the dissemination of a large
amount of information, partly because of characteristics such as interactivity,
transparency and immediacy. In addition, universities can use this new technology
as a promotional tool to attract new students (Peranginangin and Alamsyah, 2015).
Likewise, aside from being a communicative channel, social media has become a didactic
medium used to transfer knowledge (Cancelo Sanmartín and Almansa Martínez, 2013).
For this reason, participation in social media has become vital for any higher education
institution anywhere in the world in order to engage with their environment
(Peranginangin and Alamsyah, 2015).
Communication policy can be applied to the management models used by universities
which have been changing in order to adapt to social demands (Kiat-Kok et al., 2008;
Musselin, 2013; Michavila and Martinez, 2018). Among the existing university management
models, two stand out for their widespread adoption (Flórez et al., 2017): the managerial
model and the stakeholders’model. The first, is an Anglo-American model which focuses on
control mechanisms and professional management (Flórez et al., 2017). The second, the
European model, generally pays greater attention to the requirements of the main
stakeholders to participate in their self-government (Kehm, 2012).
In addition to the particularity of the different forms of management of these entities, the
mission of the universities clearly differs from that of other organizations, since they are
unique as agents in the production, transmission and dissemination of knowledge
(European Commission, 2003). Moreover, academics have a great deal of autonomy in terms
of making decisions in their principal activities, namely research and teaching (Musselin,
2006; Kehm, 2012). In addition, as noted by Musselin (2006), the independence of
organizational structures ( faculties, departments and institutes) contributes to the
particularity of this sector which makes it different compared to private corporations and
public administrations.
Despite the aforementioned differences between universities and other organizations,
little attention has been paid to how universities use social media and the communicative
strategies they apply (Paniagua and Gómez, 2012; Cancelo Sanmartín and Almansa
Martínez, 2013). In this respect, most of the research focuses on a particular college or a
particular country or region (De Aguilera et al., 2010; Karpinski et al., 2013). Hence, a
comparative analysis of the online engagement between universities with different
managerial models is yet to be explored.
European universities and those of the USA present different forms of self-government.
In addition, the most important and best universities in the world are located in Europe and
the USA (Times Higher Education, 2017). Within this context, this research aims to address
the following research questions:
RQ1. Are there significant differences in the level of online engagement achieved by
European and US universities?
RQ2. What are thedrivers that affect online engagementin European and US universities?
The findings of this study aim to contribute to the existing literature by identifying trends
and gaps that should be improved upon for the better use of social media, particularly
Facebook, to enhance stakeholders’engagement in higher education. It can also provide
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