Revisiting Corporate Social Media: Challenges and Implications from a Long-Term Study

Abstract

In a multi-step assessment of a corporate social media platform, which has been implemented in a large company for internal collaboration, we identified three major challenges regarding acceptance and adoption of the platform: (1) diverging perspectives & uncertain top-down communication, (2) functionality jungle & high usage complexity, and (3) lacking collaboration & customization. Based on these challenges, we discuss potential implications for design and implementation of corporate social media. The challenges and implications were derived from data gathered in two rounds of polling employees of the company, where we found that the surveyed employees tended to initially accept the internally implemented social media platform. Nevertheless, by assessing their attitude one and a half years later, we came to understand that the employees have rarely adopted the platform into their daily work practices. This finding led us to analyze in detail the qualitative data gathered along with the survey, as it holds valuable examples and explanations to better understand this phenomenon. Besides presenting the results of the surveys, this paper focuses on the discussion of challenges and implications for enhancing collaboration and supporting adoption processes of social media in workplaces.