UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPATION IN COMPANY SOCIAL NETWORKS

Author: Carla Sofia Martins and Lia Patrı´cio

Teacher: 苑守慈Presentation: Chih-Teng(Eric) Huang

AGENDA Introduction

Conceptual foundations

Research design

Results

Conclusions and further research

INTRODUCTIONSNS : online platforms on which users can create profiles and build personal networks for communicating and exchanging content.

CSN : businesses also have developed their own pages and formed networks of followers.

INTRODUCTIONIn the USA alone, 20 percent of the time consumers

spend on their computers focuses on SNS, and 87 percent of Facebook users are connected to some brand.

Service providers need to know how to manage the value of their CSNs for both the business and members. More than just trying to create an interesting page, companies seek to understand the mechanisms of consumers’ CSN participation.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - COMPANY SOCIAL NETWORKS

Companies attempt to build or foster online communities (OCs) to add value, though these efforts frequently fail to meet business objectives.

We define CSN as a group of people (followers, fans, or some other term, according to the web site terminology) connected to a company or brand within the boundaries of an SNS. These networks offer content and activities centered on the company brand or core offering, though some companies develop them around a related, more highly involving subject.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - COMPANY SOCIAL NETWORKS

Technically, CSNs differ from other company-hosted OCs, because they develop within SNS pages.

These pages, managed by the host companies, usually are more open and visible to all SNS users, with distinct spaces for static information about the company and for interactions with and among followers.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - COMPANY SOCIAL NETWORKS

Whereas CSN and brand community (BC) are distinct concepts, they both develop around a brand. As defined by Muniz and O’Guinn (2001, p. 412), a BC is a:

[. . .] specialized, non-geographically bound kind of consumer community, based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand, which is marked by a shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - COMPANY SOCIAL NETWORKS

CSN is mainly defined by its structure, whatever the feelings of its members toward the brand or community. Unlike BCs, members of CSNs may or may not be brand admirers, linked by a sense of community.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN OCS

Extant literature on OCs spans various forms of company-hosted and consumer-managed OCs but highlights two main concepts: members’ participation goals and OC attributes that drive their participation. Goals lead people to participate, according to the benefits that they expect to gain; attributes are the characteristics of the OC that affect this participation.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN OCSSpecifically, people participate in Ocs to: obtain useful information to solve a problem; understand and develop salient aspects of their selves; establish and maintain contact with others; gain social reputations; or have fun, enjoyment, and relaxation.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN BCSOuwersloot and Odekerken-Schro¨der (2008) propose four consumer motivations to join BCs: to reduce uncertainty about product quality by sharing

experiences with other members or directly contacting the company; to intensify the experience of consumption of a high-

involvement product; to live up the brand’s symbolic function; and to jointly consume products that must be consumed in group

rather than individually.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN BCS

Factors that affect participation in OCs also tend to apply to BCs.

Consumers’ positive perceptions of the brand are associated with higher levels of active participation and consumer-brand identification increases their willingness to interact with other consumers who share the same enthusiasm. Brand trust influences willingness to engage in open innovation projects for that brand. Consumers who are more committed to the host firm make higher quality contributions.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN BCS

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

People participate in SNS to interact with those with whom they share an offline connection, rather than to meet new people.

Self-presentation, entertainment or filling free time, and learning new information about other users also drive participation.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS - PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Creating value for both customers and the company first requires attracting members; once they become members, it requires promoting their participation and leading them to spend time and effort with the community.

Therefore, from a managerial perspective, a deeper understanding of what leads SNS users to join and participate in CSNs should help service providers devise strategies for creating and managing CSNs that increase their value creation potential.

RESEARCH DESIGNWe selected grounded theory to derive general, abstract

theory grounded in data. This process of constant comparison enabled us to compare all new data iteratively with earlier data, supporting the emergence of categories and their progressive refinement toward higher degrees of abstraction

EXPLORATORY STUDYDuring the data collection, for each member’s active

intervention, we registered the date of the contribution, name of the contributor, the content, and the type of contribution (post or comment).

With our manual monitoring process, it was impractical to collect other types of participation, such as “likes” or “shares”. The content of each message was coded in different categories.

EXPLORATORY STUDYFirst, the company was the greatest and most constant contributor.

Second, conversations usually were initiated by the company, mostly related to activities that the company promoted.

Third, heavy contributors were rare; the intensity of member participation reflected activities promoted by the company, and consequently, they were limited in time.

Fourth, dialogues happened predominantly between individual participants and the company. Conversations among multiple participants were rare, and when they happened, they tended to be simplistic forms of support or greetings.

QUALITATIVE STUDYOur sampling methods reflected our exploratory study

findings, which indicated two theoretically relevant groups of active and passive participants. We ensured that the initial sample included both active and passive participants.

In analyzing the focus group data, we attempted to generate as many categories as possible. Thereafter, we returned to the field several times, looking for additional informants whose testimonies could generate new categories and increase the density of existing ones. The sampling process stopped when we achieved theoretical saturation, such that no new conceptual insights were generated in new interviews.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

RESULTSAt the beginning of this study, we identified two main

participation patterns: active, which implies some action visible to others, and passive, which includes all contacts with the CSN that leave no trace.

Our data analysis unveiled five core goals that led to CSN participation (Table III): getting information, self-expressing, participating in activities, contacting the company, complying with friends.

RESULTS

RESULTSMembers use SNS more for their informational

value than for their social value.

That is, getting information was the most mentioned goal driving participation. Generally, participants wanted to be informed about companies’ offerings, launches, and promotions.

Some respondents noted that when they needed information, such as contact details or an address, they preferred to visit its Facebook page rather than to the company’s web site.

RESULTSOur results show that CSN members use membership to

create an image of themselves for others, which reflects self-expressing. A significant number of participants reported that they joined CSNs to express their consumption habits.

From the moment someone joins a CSN, it becomes part of her or his personal profile, available to her or his personal network, which supports self-expressing.

RESULTSCSN attributes that drive participation

Some CSN attributes enable members to achieve the goals that led them to (actively or passively) participate. Higher perceptions of these attributes should correspond to greater participation in the CSN, whether in the form of more members or a higher degree of member involvement.

RESULTS Content : feeding adequacy and informativeness Activity : extrinsic and intrinsic rewards for participation Social image : CSN self-expressiveness and reputation Communication : openness and responsiveness Thematic consistency

RESEARCH AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

We find that CSNs usually lack highly involved members (active and persistent over time). In essence, members view CSNs as company web sites with dynamic features, not as collectives of people with a common interest. On the one hand, the most involved members mainly seek information. They constantly follow the CSN but also tend to behave as lurkers.

RESEARCH AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

To increase member involvement, companies should try to create a clear community purpose and foster interactions among members and with the company. An appropriate use of customization options can make CSN pages more encouraging of interactions.

CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

We offer a better understanding of this phenomenon and provide a basis for further research. Building on our qualitative study results, we also suggest implications for CSN practitioners and managers.

This study provides a more in-depth understanding of the factors of participation in CSNs, to advance research in this area and help companies define their strategies in this new context.