Connections Over Content: Enterprise Social Media Affordances and Knowledge Collaboration

• In Event: B.E.S.T. - Technology Use, Virtual Work, and Beyond

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical study of the use of an Enterprise Social Media platform in a multinational organization, focusing on the affordances (and constraints) enacted in the use of the platform and how these affect knowledge collaboration. Based on a combination of content analysis of posted messages and 21 interviews with users, we identified two main affordances: Association (consisting of findability, reachability and community building) and Visibility (of people, their work activities, and the organization as a whole). Three constraints emerged from our findings: Association (information overflow), Visibility (exposure and strategic behavior), and Unstructuredness. Based on a further analysis of how affordances and constraints influence knowledge collaboration on an ESM platform, we conclude that the affordances an ESM provides in terms of knowledge collaboration can mainly be framed in terms of connecting people, not in terms of storing and accessing content.

Authors

• Magdalena Maly, VU U - Amsterdam

• Marlous Agterberg, VU U - Amsterdam

• Bart J. van den Hooff, VU University Amsterdam