Open Access Peer-reviewed Case Study

Internal business communication through social media: A case study of a university specialized in business education

Main Article Content

Hicham Ait Salem corresponding author

Abstract

In present era, usage of social media is very common. This study used interview questionnaire to explore employees’ behaviors and beliefs towards usage of social media and further its role and importance as an internal communication tool in Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China. Ten employees of university from different departments were interviewed about their views regarding different factors related to use of social media and further its role as an internal communication tool. It was found that the most frequently used social media were WeChat and QQ. ZJGSU University employees believed that social media were convenient, instant medium for communication (sharing pictures and videos) and they may enhance flow and effectiveness of internal communication in ZJGSU. The study found that although employees generally have a good perception about social media but there is need for improvement for either adopting a proper enterprise social media or proper utilization of WeChat for effective internal communication. As the sample size in this study was small so it limits generalization and external validity of the findings, yet its focus on the different factors and benefits of using social media integrates to its originality with the thought that social media may help enhance the flow and effectiveness of internal communication in an organization.

Keywords
social media, internal communication, social response

Article Details

How to Cite
Ait Salem, H. (2019). Internal business communication through social media: A case study of a university specialized in business education. Advances in Developmental and Educational Psychology, 1(1), 67-71. https://doi.org/10.25082/ADEP.2019.01.005

References

  1. Mustafa SE and Hamzah A. Online Social Networking: A New Virtual Playground, 2011. http://www.ipedr.com/vol5/no2/69-H10184.pdf
  2. McKinsey Global Institute, Business and Web 2.0: An Interactive Feature, 2013. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business technology/ business and web 20 an interactive feature
  3. Leonardi PM, Huysman M and Steinfield C. Enterprise Social Media: Definition, History and Prospects for the Study of Social Technologies in Organisations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2013, 19(1): 19. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12029
  4. Moran M, Seaman J and Tinti-Kane H. Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today’s Higher Education Faculry Use Social Media. Babson Survey Research Group, 2011: 32.
  5. Mitchell J, Ferrabee D and Wright M. How is Your Company or Client Using Social Media for Employee Communication? Communication World, 2008, 25(5): 17.
  6. Kuchi T. Computer Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet. Information Society, 2009, 22(2): 55-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240500388271
  7. How A. The Theory of Communicative Action. Volume I. Reason and the Rationalization of Society, by Jurgen Habermas. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, 2014, 18(2): 192-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071773.1987.11007808
  8. Deflem M. The Boundaries of Abortion Law: Systems Theory from Parsons to Luhmann and Habermas. Social Forces, 1998, 76(3): 775-818. https://doi.org/10.2307/3005694
  9. Boyd DM. Social Network Sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2007, 13(1): 210-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
  10. Social Media Today. 40 Most Popular Social Networking Sites of the World, 2010. http://socialmediatoday.com/soravjain/195917/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world
  11. Crescenzo S. Is the next Alfred Hitchcock in the Cube Down the Hall? Communication World, 2009, 26(6): 10-11.
  12. Brandon MC. (1995). Employee communication: From Nice Necessity. Communication World, 1995, 12(3): 20.
  13. Farooq Q, Hao Y and Liu X. (2019). Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility with Cross-Cultural Difference: A Deeper Look at Religiosity. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2019: 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1736
  14. Gray R and Robertson L. Effective Internal Communication Starts. Communication World, 2005, 22(4) 26-30.
  15. Farooq Q, Fu P, Hao Y, et al. A Review of Management and Importance of E-Commerce Implementation in Service Delivery of Private Express Enterprises of China. SAGE Open, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018824194
  16. Hakim C. Research design: successful designs for social and economic research. Nature, 2000, 4546 :1332-1333. https://doi.org/10.1038/1781332b0
  17. Blackstone A. Sociology Inquiry Principles: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods (V 10), 2012. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/sociological-inquiry-principles-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods/index.html
  18. Zhang L, Farooq Q, Zhang Y, et al. (2019). Fair Value and Mispricing: How Domestic Earnings Transparency of Listed Firms Leads to Global Financial Stability. European Journal of International Management, 2019 (In Press). https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2020.10019072
  19. Hao Y, Farooq Q and Zhang Y. Unattended social wants and corporate social responsibility of leading firms: R elationship of intrinsic motivation of volunteering in proposed welfare programs and employee attributes. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 2018, 25(6): 1029-1038.
  20. Leung L. Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2015, 4(3): 324-327. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.161306