Averting the rise of the dark side of social media: The role of sensitization and regulation

Social media have fundamentally influenced the way we live. Thus far, research has mainly focused on the ‘bright side’ of social media and the many advantages these platforms bring. More and more, however, research is also beginning to address the ‘dark side’ of social media. Dark side phenomena include cyberbullying, manipulation of elections, fear of missing out, social media addiction and the distribution of fake news. In this editorial for the management focus section of the European Management Journal, we propose two strategies (sensitizing and regulating) to manage this dark side of social media. Additionally, this editorial introduces the four articles included in this management focus section. We hope that the featured articles will help to encourage further research in this area.     

Seeing light in the dark: Investigating the dark side of social media and user response strategies

Social media affords brands and users a variety of benefits. However, a recent stream of research identifies a multidimensional dark side to social media. We contribute to this growing body of research in four key ways. First, we empirically investigate user perceptions of the dark side of social media in terms of the risks proposed by Baccarella et al. (2018), confirming the existence of six of the seven risks. Second, we identify and empirically investigate the strategies with which users seek to reduce the social media risks. Third, we develop scales to assess both the social media risks and user reduction strategies. Finally, we conduct segmentation analysis to empirically investigate how users differ in terms of their perceived social media risks and risk reduction strategies. Taken together, our findings provide a validated framework of, and scales to measure, user perceptions of, and responses to, the dark side of social media.     

The shadows know me: Exploring the dark side of social media in the healthcare field

Nowadays, the increasing attention paid to the dark side of social media (SM) in the field of healthcare management has moved both researchers and practitioners to investigate the impact of Web 2.0 technologies with reference to SM, because of continuous distortion created by these SM platforms for patients and the real dark side they constitute, which affects both the patient sphere and its relative empowerment.Based on previous theoretical and managerial contributions, the paper aims to investigate both the bright and dark side of the effects of SM in the healthcare field, which affect improvements in patient empowerment. Notwithstanding, the exploratory study was developed through a common theoretical and conceptual framework to improve the understanding of emerging social and economic dynamics towards the paradigm provided by many studies on the dark side of Web 2.0.So far, established on previous contributions to the healthcare management domain, the exploratory study identifies a set of variables related to the conceptualisations of patient empowerment and the dark side of SM, with reference to cases of digital users both with and without chronic illnesses.Moving deeper, matching qualitative and quantitative approaches, the impact of the dark side of SM on patient empowerment was investigated using structural equation modelling through SPSS and R softwares, sampling about 650 individuals on the Italian population using computer-assisted web interviewing.Finally, results highlight considerable correlations between many dimensions explaining patient empowerment and the dark side of SM, showing a positive effect on the improvement in patient engagement, but potential critical risks and concerns due to a misinterpretation of online information highlighting the dark side of SM.     

Utilization and value of social networking relationships in family and nonfamily firms in an African transition economy

This study investigates the utilization of managerial networking relationships with social and political entities to create social capital in family-owned and nonfamily firms, and compares the impact of the value of the social capital derived from the networking relationships on performance between family-owned and nonfamily firms. Using data from Ghana, the findings show that there are differences in the utilization of networking with social and political stakeholders to create social capital by family-owned and nonfamily firms. While networking relationships with government bureaucratic officials and community leaders have an inverted U-shaped relationship with performance for family-owned firms, it has a linear, positive and monotonic relationship with performance for nonfamily firms. Overall, the findings suggest that networking relationship matters, but extensive utilization of networking relationships with external stakeholders may have diminishing returns to performance for family-owned firms.     

Framing social media communication: Investigating the effects of brand post appeals on user interaction

Social networking sites (SNS) play an increasingly important role in the mix of brands’ marketing communication. A key question for marketing departments, therefore, is how brand posts can be best framed to provoke positive user reactions and interactions. In order to better understand the determinants of communication success on SNS, we propose a theoretical framework of how users process posts on SNS. Its logic suggests that the overall theme of a post (“post appeal”) is a main antecedent of communication success. Thus, we empirically examine the effects of post appeals on user interaction by profoundly analysing a sample of 1948 Facebook posts. Results show that some post appeals have positive and others have negative impact on user interaction. Interestingly, some of the appeals with positive impact are rarely used by brands, while some of the appeals with negative impact are used quite frequently, indicating that brands currently do not grasp the full potential of post appeal strategy. This article concludes by discussing theoretical and managerial implications.     

Work-related social media use: The mediating role of social media communication self-efficacy

Social media use has become an indispensable part of knowledge work. Employees posting work-related content on social media are considered credible sources of information and have significant importance for how stakeholders, such as potential customers and future employees, perceive the organization. Therefore, employees’ ability to communicate about their work on social media has become a competitive advantage both for individual employees and for their organizations, especially in the professional service sector. Hence, understanding the role of employees’ ability to use these social media professionally is crucial for understanding the communicative behaviors of contemporary knowledge workers. In this study, we draw on social cognitive theory and focus on the antecedents and consequences of self-efficacy in individuals’ work-related communication on social media. The results show that perceived organizational commitment, clarity of communicative role, social media training, and prior experience with social media serve as antecedents of communication self-efficacy and subsequent work-related communication on social media. Thus, organizations and particularly management, have several aspects directly within the scope of their control that may aid employees in engaging in the professional use of social media. The paper contributes to the literature on employees’ communication behavior and provides important and actionable insights for management and the development of human resources.     

An evaluation of social learning and learner outcomes in a massive open online course (MOOC): a healthcare sector case study

ABSTRACT

This paper responds to calls for new inquiries into the use of technology in HRD. We examine how, and to what extent, social media tools contribute to learner experiences and learner outcomes in an HRD intervention in a workplace context. We analyse qualitative and quantitative data relating to a massive open online course (MOOC) in a healthcare sector case study setting. We examine the interaction between the MOOC programme, social learning through social media tools and learner outcomes. The results of our evaluation show that usage of social media tools does not significantly affect knowledge outcomes but social media usage enhances affective outcomes. We conclude that social media tools can foster productive social learning processes. We also find evidence of some reluctance to engage with the technologies and declining patterns of interactivity using social media over the duration of the MOOC programme. We conclude that a more nuanced theorization to take account of personal and professional workplace context is necessary to explain how learners regulate their engagement with social media tools and the effect of social technologies for sustained social learning in HRD interventions.     

Promoting business model innovation through social media strategic capability: A moderated mediation model

The rapid development of social media has significantly affected organizational innovation activities. However, scant research has investigated how social media, as an important innovative tool within the corporate landscape, influences firm business model innovation (BMI). This paper provides an initial investigation into whether, and how, social media can be used to promote firm BMI. Drawing on the strategic capability literature, the study examines the relationship between social media strategic capability (SMSC) and BMI by focusing on the mediating role of strategic flexibility and the moderating effects of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity and environmental dynamism. Empirical results from a sample of 283 Chinese firms with two key informants each show a significant and positive association between SMSC and BMI, which is mediated by strategic flexibility. In addition, moderated path analyses indicate that TMT heterogeneity positively moderates the SMSC–strategic flexibility path, while environmental dynamism positively moderates the strategic flexibility–BMI path in the mediated relationship. Theoretical and practical implications of this study for both social media and BMI research are discussed.     

Understanding the consequences of public social media use for work

Social media has slowly become ubiquitous in the workplace; however, the use of these technologies has been associated with both positive and negative consequences. Using the JD-R model, this study examines these positive and negative consequences of the public social media use for work. Survey data of 421 employees is used to explore the relationship between public social media use for work and engagement, and exhaustion, through opposing mechanisms. The findings demonstrate that interruptions and work–life conflict are important demands, whereas accessibility and efficient communication are resources associated with social media use for work. These demands and resources are related to engagement and exhaustion.     

Value drivers of social businesses: A business model perspective

Hybrid organizational forms that combine commercial and welfare institutional logics play an increasingly important role in addressing the grand societal challenges we face today. Building on the literatures on hybrid organizations and social business models, we explore the characteristics of social businesses from a business model perspective. This study seeks to better understand the particularities and value drivers of hybrid social purpose in contrast to purely commercial business models. We follow a grounded theory approach and our findings are based on interview data from 17 social business firms. Building on social businesses' identified particularities, we propose four value drivers of social business models: 1) responsible efficiency, 2) impact complementarities, 3) shared values, and 4) integration novelties. We link our findings to the literature, contributing new insights into social businesses models and implications for practitioners.     

Societal effects of social media in organizations: Reflective points deriving from a systematic literature review and a bibliometric meta-analysis

Social media provides its users with uninterrupted access to information for a variety of matters. On the one hand, social media helps people to express themselves freely and access various content, thus, forming a global view. On the other hand, social media may easily lead individuals to form polarized attitudes by impacting their behaviour in various contexts (e.g., organizational contexts). Such contradiction cannot be neglected. It is found to be an essential societal phenomenon that needs further investigation. The study first aims at realizing how existing literature of different domains analyse and conceptualize the effects of social media. Then, it leverages such societal effects on organizations. A total of 231 articles were used for a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric meta-analysis on this topic and were further analysed with VOSviewer software. The study organizes the existing literature on this topic and provides issues, perceptions, and theories that are used to explain the effects of social media in society, and then it reflects on the potential impact on organizations.     

Efficiency in the generation of social welfare in Mexico: A proposal in the presence of bad outputs

One of the main goals of any country is to secure the general welfare of society, entailing positive levels of education, health and income, coupled with low levels of social inequality. The following paper studies the efficient use of economic and social resources to generate social welfare in the presence of bad outputs in the states of Mexico during 2010. A two-level data envelopment analysis model was used to determine how efficient the 32 states of the Mexican Republic were, considering as model variables the socioeconomic indicators of the three dimensions of human development (education, health and income), and the data on poverty or inequity in the country. The analysis of the results reveals that only 5 of the 32 units studied were efficient in generating welfare and in reducing poverty, while the rest need to increase their welfare levels and especially reduce inequity in education and income using the economic and social resources they possess.     

How leader role identity influences the process of leader emergence: A social network analysis

Contemporary theories on leadership development emphasize the importance of having a leader identity in building leadership skills and functioning effectively as leaders. We build on this approach by unpacking the role leader identity plays in the leader emergence process. Taking the perspective that leadership is a dynamic social process between group members, we propose a social network-based process model whereby leader role identity predicts network centrality (i.e., betweenness and indegree), which then contributes to leader emergence. We test our model using a sample of 88 cadets participating in a leadership development training course. In support of our model, cadets who possess a stronger leader role identity at the beginning of the course were more likely to emerge as leaders. However this relationship was only mediated by one form of network centrality, indegree centrality, reflecting one's ability to build relationships within one's group. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The impact of social power and influence on the implementation of innovation strategies: A case study of a UK mega infrastructure construction project

Influence plays a key role in reaching consensus among multiple actors involved in project-based decision-making processes. While prior literature devotes considerable attention to describing influence, little attention has been paid to influence at the individual level of the strategic project manager within the context of megaprojects. This research intended to fill this knowledge gap by identifying and describing the influence strategies that a strategic project manager applies when implementing innovation strategies on megaprojects. A qualitative case study was used to examine the complex social processes involved in a major UK capital investment programme. The findings underline a critical subset of influence strategies, notably higher-management support, inspirational appeal and bargaining. The study proposes a utilitarian structure of social power comprising selective, supportive and executory power bases.     

Perceptions of demotion decisions: A social capital perspective

This article examines how demotees and co-workers understand involuntary demotion decisions, using a social capital lens. Drawing on data based on semi-structured in-depth interviews from 23 demotees and 46 co-workers (two co-workers of each demoted worker), we find that the likelihood of being demoted is determined by several factors. The personal characteristics of the demotee influence three aspects of social capital: 1) the quality of the employee-management relationship, 2) the ability to socialise with other organizational members and 3) visibility in the organization. Our findings contribute to the relational embeddedness perspective of social capital as well the growing body of literature on the dark side of social capital in organizations by showing how a lack of social capital impacts on demotion decisions. Relevant implications for organizations and HR practitioners for utilizing demotion as a HR tool are discussed.     

Incorporating social networks into leadership development: A conceptual model and evaluation of research and practice

Multilevel and relational views of leadership are expanding the focus of leadership development beyond individuals' knowledge, skills, and abilities to include the networked patterns of social relationships linking members of dyads and larger collectives. In this review, we present a conceptual model explaining how three distinct approaches for network-enhancing leadership development can improve the leadership capacity of individuals and collectives. We then present a review of the leadership development literature and the results of a survey of 282 practitioners to assess the extent to which these approaches have been examined in research and implemented in practice. Our review revealed that leadership research and leadership development practice are outpacing leadership development research in terms of incorporating networks. We aim to spur future research by clarifying the targets, objectives, and underlying mechanisms of each network enhancing leadership development approach in our conceptual model. Further, we identify additional literature, not traditionally considered within the realm of leadership development that may help advance empirical examinations of these approaches.     

The multifaceted nature of social practices: A review of the perspectives on practice-based theory building about organizations

A vibrant body of literature on social practices has developed rapidly in recent years. However, a systematic analysis of the underlying perspectives that shape the way practice-based scholars contribute to theory building about organizational phenomena has escaped scholarly attention. It is of pivotal importance to examine the multifaceted nature of social practices and understand the process by which new practice-based knowledge is developed. Our study addresses this gap by disentangling how researchers have adopted the knowledge, materiality, ethics, and politics perspectives that – as past influential work has informed us – are particularly relevant to practice-based theory building. In so doing, we categorize the body of literature into themes that correspond to the organizational phenomena examined by social practice scholars: practice boundaries and coordination of work, technology at work, strategy formation, local particulars structuring everyday work, and transformation of work practices. By uncovering how scholars adopt the four perspectives within each theme, our review shows that scholars (i) predominantly adopt the knowledge perspective, (ii) neglect the politics perspective when looking ‘inside’ a social practice, (iii) strikingly de-emphasize the ethics perspective, and (iv) isolate each of the four perspectives used in theory building. We then examine in detail the implications of our work for future research on social practices and conclude with a number of theoretical and methodological suggestions.     

社会危机背景下的联结行动说服策略研究 ——基于社交媒体中的用户生成内容文本分析

近年来的社会危机事件表明,社交媒体平台已成为传播信息、开展联结行动的主流社会报道工具。基于决策与推理的双系统说服模型—启发式与系统式处理,本文通过微博平台定量地探讨了联结行动中积极分子的用户生成内容(UGC)与公众参与间的复杂关系。借鉴道德判断和认知加工文献,视道德呼吁内容为启发式线索,功利呼吁内容为系统式线索,考察其重要性,并从情绪唤醒的角度研究了社会危机中常见的两种消极离散情感:焦虑和悲伤。利用两个不同社会危机期间(2016年魏则西事件和2018年泰国沉船事件)的数据集,结合机器学习算法与负二项回归模型,发现两类呼吁性内容均可刺激普通用户作为扩散者参与联结行动。同时,嵌入在UGC中的悲伤情绪增加了道德呼吁的重要性,而焦虑情绪则促进了功利呼吁的正向影响。实证结果对联结行动的行动者、危机管理者和应急救援部门都具有重要的现实意义。     

The relationship of organizational and social coping resources to employee coping behaviour: A longitudinal analysis

Research on the determinants of coping behaviour has focused primarily on stressor-specific influences and on personal attributes and skills that serve as coping resources. However, coping resources can also include aspects of the organizational and social environment. This study investigates the role of supportive work relationships and of participation and influence in decision-making in determining the coping behaviour of employees in a manufacturing plant. Since the relationships between worksite coping resources and employee coping behaviours may be causally reciprocal, longitudinal models were analysed to sort out causal priorities. Results showed that organizational and social coping resources did influence subsequent coping behaviour. Perceiving oneself to have influence over decision-making at work predicted increases in active, problem-solving coping attempts and decreases in resignation in response to worksite stressors. Also, employees who perceived their co-workers and supervisors to be supportive were more likely to increase their mobilization of that support when faced with worksite stress. In addition, the use of certain employee coping behaviours influenced subsequent levels of participation in decision-making, as well as the quality of relationships with co-workers and supervisors.