The Value of Knowledge Acquired via Online Social Capital: LinkedIn, a South African Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/21656Keywords:
LinkedIn, social networks, social capital, online social capital, dense networks, weak ties, strong ties, structural holes, Web 2.0, online social networks (OSNs), subject matter proficiency, problem solving, novel knowledge, innovation, communities of practice (COPs)Abstract
This study investigated the value of a member's online social capital, in the social networking platform LinkedIn, in the following areas: member's subject matter proficiency, member's firm's problem solving ability, and member's firm's innovation process. The analytical framework used the concepts of social networks and online social networks (OSNs); social network ties; social capital and online social capital; knowledge and novel knowledge; communities of practice (CoPs); problem solving; and innovation. Quantitative methods were used, involving analysis of data collected from a sample of LinkedIn members residing in South Africa. It was apparent from the analysis that knowledge acquired on LinkedIn, relating to a member's subject matter proficiency, benefited the member's firm. It was also evident that this knowledge contributed to the firm's problem solving process. The data did not, however, confirm or refute the proposition that knowledge acquired by members on LinkedIn contributed to their firms' innovation. An overall observation from the data was that members did not perceive substantial value from the knowledge available on LinkedIn. The authors therefore recommend that greater initiative be taken by members and firms to adopt open networking approaches, using online social networks such as LinkedIn, starting with attitudinal and policy considerations on the part of firms.
References
Aguirre, J. L. (2011). Studying social capital in the new communitarian horizon: A multi-method research strategy. In B. K. Daniel (Ed.), Handbook of research on methods and techniques for studying virtual communities: Paradigms and phenomena (pp. 753-765). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60960-040-2.ch044
Anderson-Gough, F., Grey, C., & Robson, K. (2006). Professionals, networking and the networked professional. In R. Greenwood & R. Suddaby (Eds.). Professional services firms (pp. 231-256). Research in the Sociology of Organisations, Volume 24. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0733-558X(06)24009-6
Bigliardi, B., Ivo Dormio, A., &, Galati, F. (2012). The adoption of open innovation within the telecommunication industry. European Journal of Innovation Manage- ment, 15(1), 27-54.
https://doi.org/10.1108/14601061211192825
Benton, R. A. (2013). Social capital and work activity: Autonomy, supervision, and creativity in interpersonal networks. In S. McDonald (Ed.) Networks, work and inequality (pp. 269-293). Research in the Sociology of Work, Volume 24. Bing- ley, UK: Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-2833(2013)0000024013
Blanchard A., & Horan, T. (1998). Virtual communities and social capital. Social Science Computer Review, 16(3), 293-307. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443939801600306
Bourdieu, P. (1985a). The social space and the genesis of groups. Theory and Society, 14(6), 723-744. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174048
Bourdieu, P. (1985b). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-58). New York: Greenwood.
Chatti, M. A., & Jarke, M. (2009). Social software for bottom-up knowledge networking and community building. In M. Lytras, R. Tennyson, & P. De Pablos (Eds.) Knowledge networks: The social software perspective (pp. 17-27). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-976-2.ch002
Claybaugh, C., & Haseman, W. (2013). Understanding professional connections in LinkedIn: A question of trust. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 54, 94-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2013.11645675
Diamantopoulos, A., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2000). Taking the fear out of data analysis. Andover, UK: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Duncan, R. D. (2012). The role of online social networks in inter-firm collaborative innovation and problem solving. DBL dissertation, University of South Africa (UNI- SA). Retrieved from http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/6221
Erasmus, B., & Schenk, H. (2008). South African human resources management: Theory C practice (4th. ed.) Cape Town: Juta Legal and Academic Publishers.
Gliem, J. A., & Gliem, R. R., (2003). Calculating, interpreting, and reporting Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient for Likert-type scales. Paper presented to 2003 Mid- west Research to Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/344
Grant, R. M. (2010). Contemporary strategy analysis (7th ed.). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Gordeyeva, I. (2010). Enterprise 2.0: Theoretical foundations of social media tools influence on knowledge sharing practices in organisations. Master's thesis, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands. Retrieved from http://essay.utwente.nl/59921/
Howard, T. W. (2010). Why invest in social networks and online communities? In Design to thrive: Creating social networks and online communities that last (pp. 29-41). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374921-5.00003-6
Jones, K., Pole, R., Hole, S., & Williams, J. (2012). Social networks for learning: Breaking through the walled garden of the VLE. In A. Abraham & A.-E. Hassanien (Eds.) Computational social networks: Tools, perspectives and applications (pp. 417- 444). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4048-1_17
Kobayashi, T. (2012). Cyber behaviour and social capital. In Z. Yan (Ed.) Encyclopaedia of cyber behaviour (pp. 1063-1073). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0315-8.ch087
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E., (2010). Practical research (Planning and design) (9th ed.). Cranbury, NJ: Pearson Education.
LinkedIn (2016). About LinkedIn. Retrieved from http://press.linkedin.com/about
Ma, W. (2012). Online knowledge sharing. In Yan, Z. (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of cyber behaviour (pp. 394-402). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0315-8.ch033
Mathews, P., & Simon, J. (2012). Evaluating and enriching online knowledge exchange: A socio-epistemological perspective, virtual communities, social networks and collaboration. In A. Lazakidou (Ed.), Virtual communities, social networks and collaboration (pp. 35-60). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3634-8_3
Monti, A., & Soda, G. (2014). Perceived organizational identification and prototypicality as origins of knowledge exchange networks. In D. Brass, G. Labianca, A. Mehra, D. Halgin., & S. Borgatti (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives on organizational social networks. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Volume 40 (pp. 357- 379), Bingley, UK: Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0733-558X(2014)0000040018
Nov, O. (2009). Information sharing and social computing: Why, what, and where? Ad- vances in Computers, 76, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2458(09)01001-8
Olsen, L. E. (2008). Professional networking online: A qualitative study of LinkedIn use in Norway. Master's thesis, Media Studies, University of Bergen. Retrieved from http://bora.uib.no/bitstream/handle/1956/2935/47387011.pdf?sequence=-1Professional
Pénard, T., & Poussing, N. (2010). Internet use and social capital: The strength of virtual ties. Journal of Economic Issues, 44(3), 569-595. https://doi.org/10.2753/JEI0021-3624440301
Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/223472
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.1
Tiwana, A. (2002). The knowledge management toolkit (2nd ed.). Cranbury, NJ: Pearson Education.
Trott, P. (2012). Innovation management and new product development (5th ed.). London: Pearson Education.
Van de Vrande, V., De Jong, J. P. J., Vanhaverbeke, W., & De Rochemont, M. (2009). Open innovation in SMEs: Trends, motives and management challenges. Technovation, 29, 423-437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2008.10.001
Wasko, M., & Faraj, S. (2005). Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practise. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 35-57. https://doi.org/10.2307/25148667
Wessa, P. (2015). Cronbach's Alpha (version 1.0.3). Free Statistics and Forecasting Soft- ware. Website. Office for Research Development and Education, version 1.1.23- r7. Retrieved from http://www.wessa.net/rwasp_cronbach.wasp/
Widên-Wulff, G. (2007). Motives for sharing: Social networks as information sources. In E. Garten, D. Williams, J. Nyce, & S. Talja (Eds.) Advances in library administration and organization (pp. 1-31). Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Volume 25. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-0671(07)25001-1
Zaglia, M. E., Waiguny, M. K. J., Abfalter, D., & Müller, J. (2015). The influence of online social networks on performance of small and medium enterprises: An empirical investigation of the online business to business network XING. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 7(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEV.2015.067870
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2016 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
- Abstract 289
- pdf 199
.png){kind=spacer}