Stairways to heaven: Implementing social media in organizations

July 31, 2013 Editor 0

Abstract

Purpose – This paper is aimed at both researchers and organizations. For researchers, it provides a means for better analyzing the phenomenon of social media implementation in organizations as a knowledge management enabler. For organizations, it suggests a step-by-step architecture for practically implementing social media and benefiting from it in terms of knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach – The research is an empirical study. A hypothesis was set; empirical evidence was collected (from 34 organizations). The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, thereby forming the basis for the proposed architecture.Findings – Implementing social media in organizations is more than a yes/no question; findings show various levels of implementation in organizations: some implementing at all levels, while others implement only tools, functional components, or even only visibility.Research limitations/implications – Two main themes limit the research and should be further tested: Whether the suggested architecture actually yields faster/eased KM implementation compared to other techniques; and whether it can serve needs beyond the original scope (Israel; KM) as tested in this study (i.e. also for other regions; other needs – service, marketing & sales, etc.).Practical implications – Organizations can use the suggested four levels architecture as a guideline for implementing social media as part of their KM efforts.Originality/value – This paper is original and innovative. Previous studies describe the implementation of social media in terms of yes/no; this research explores the issue as a graded one, where organizations can and do implement social media step-by-step. The paper’s value is twofold: It can serve as a foundational study for future researches, which can base their analysis on the suggested architecture of four levels of implementation. It also serves as applied research that will help organizations searching for social media implementation KM enablers.
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Categories: Knowledge Management

Tags: social media