Introduction
The vibrant and complex environment requires the organizations to foster capability of creating and transferring new knowledge and practice. An organization’s capability to possess definite skills determines the successful realization of a particular innovation. The built up technological knowledge of an organization can be compelled to test novel ideas (Pennings&Harianto, 1992).
Organizations use innovative products, innovative procedures, innovative services and innovative organizational structure to compete with each other and to satisfy their consumers (Ettlie &Reza, 1992).
Organizational learning brings about some relatively permanent change including behavioral, cognitive and attitudinal changes (Reilly, 1998).
The vital elements for the success of a learning based initiative are: Handling the significant business needs effectively and inventing innovative work procedures to collaborate more efficiently (Sugarman, n. d.).
Anderson(2004) highlights the significance of connection between organizational culture and innovation. Congenial organizational environment for innovation facilitates support for trials, failure-bearing capacity and risk taking traits (Seelos & Mair, 2012).
Learning is a product of knowledge, hence, to understand how social networking influences organizational learning, we need to understand how knowledge is created, combined and then applied, leading to innovation within the organizations (Al-Hashem& Shaqrah, 2012).
The traditional means of knowledge creation and transfer included face-to-face interactions, job replacement and staff expansion (Alavi & Liender, 1999).
Information torrent took a single direction, dispersing it from one person to many people (Movius, 2010).
Knowledge Creation and Transfer in Organizations
The developing trends like global economy, tactical mergers, use of collective investments and global marketing necessitate the need for knowledge transfer in organizations (Alipour et.al, 2011).
According to Nonaka (1994) “knowledge can be created, shared, improved, and justified via collaborative, social processes and individual’s cognitive process such as reflection.”(cited in Alipour et.al, 2011, pg.62). He proposed that tacit (unconscious) knowledge and explicit (uconscious) knowledge is the basis of knowledge transfer.
Nonaka and Takuchi (1995) find the theory of ‘organizational knowledge creation’ inevitable for understanding innovation. They believe that knowledge is created through mobilization and exchange of tacit knowledge. They present four modes of knowledge transfer within the organizations (Nonaka and Takuchi, 1995)
Socialization: This process involves the conversion of tacit knowledge with the aid of social contact like communication and interactions. The organizational members engage in social interaction activities like debate, observation, giving out experiences, replication etc. among themselves.
Externalization: The transfer of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in the form of ideas, theories, explanations and models is externalization. It occurs when the firm officially communicates its internal rules of operating or establishes its goals explicitly (Martin de Castro, 2007 as cited in Alipour et. al, 2009).
Combination: This process involves the act of recreating explicit knowledge from explicit knowledge. The existing explicit knowledge is combined, labelled, reclassified and fused to create new explicit knowledge (Aavi &Leidner, 2011 cited in Alipour et.al, 2011). “This explicit knowledge is transferred through media such as documents, meetings, storytelling and electronic communications like Yahoo Messenger, Skype, E-mail or phone conversations” (Alipour et al, 2011,pg 62).
Internalization: This process involves conversion of explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge leading to the transformation of abstract ideas into concrete notions and consequently their significant incorporation.
Effective knowledge transfer ensures that the knower and the user both possess similar common knowledge of the concept (Alipour et al, 2011).
I=Individual; G=Group; O=Organization; Environment
Organizational learning involves the distribution of organizational knowledge extensively inside and between the organizations (Schulz, 2001).
The abundant success of the Japnese companies made the Nonaka’s knowledge creation model new paradigms in the field of organizational knowledge (Bratianu, n.d.).
The knowledge sharing cycle approach to knowledge creation confirms that organizational knowledge can be attained through three dimensions: Internalization, externalization, and objectification (Zaffar &Ghazawneh, n.d.).
Organizations cannot possess information regarding all technological developments through internal R&D. Hence, the serving organizations are required to pull their external networks to keep themselves updated with the developing technological model (Rothaermel & Hess,2007).
IBM’s Social Business Initiative
Today, social technology has become an integral part the everyday life in all developed as well as developing countries. The next step in making the world more socially connected is to incorporate ‘social business.’ Social business is blooming and pioneers of social business are confirming the valuable prospects of social technologies. Besides the prevalent trends like mobile, big data and cloud, the social media are offering many other appealing value proposals.
IBM defines social business as, “embedding social tools, media, and practices into the ongoing activities of the organization. Social business enables individuals to connect and share information and insights more effectively with others, both inside and outside the organization. Social business tools facilitate engagement in extensive discussions with employees, customers, business partners and other stakeholders and allow sharing of resources, skills and knowledge to drive business outcomes.”(BBVA Innovation Edge, 2013, p. 21).
IBM asserts that innovation is achieved through collaboration. Incorporating social technology fosters change and innovation that involves each one like: employees, customers, suppliers or top management (Keohane, 2014).
Social Business confirms a people-to-people relationship that is much more than just files sharing. It enhances the use of social media in every department of an organization including HR, marketing, product development and customer care.
The distinctive features of IBM’s Social Business are:
Engagement: Social Business allows people to remain closely connected with one another. It keeps employees, customers and partners to engage in a fruitful and proficient manner.
Transparency: Social Business wipes out limitations to information permitting access to experts and assets and helping people line up their actions to foster business results.
Nimbleness: Social Business makes swift transformations in businesses with ample knowledge and insight to foresee and tackle growing prospects (Social Business, n.d.).
Social business has the solution for key technological and economic moves that characterize innovation today (Change the Way You Engage, n.d).
A social Business sets in social tools and procedures in all processes for augmented capabilities and competitiveness (Carter, 2012).
Social Networking
Organizations’ enthusiasm to incorporate social networking technologies into their business operations reinforces IBM’s perspective of Social Business. Social networking contributes to the progress of business and people as it lays emphasis on creativity, energy resources and decision-making. In addition to the sought after knowledge, people find out significant expertise and information they were not even seeking and which could be helpful in solving the issues in a new manner (Social Business, n. d.).
Collaborative innovation networks are based on the idea of organizational development through creativity, efficiency and productivity applying creative collaboration, knowledge sharing, and social networking (Anklam, 2002).
Social media includes online forums like blogs, chat rooms, debate boards and so many social networking sites. Generally, these social media accounts are free to use and require least internet surfing expertise. Organizations can exploit social media platforms to be in touch with the end users, learn new ideas and improve customer service.
The popular social networking site “Facebook has become a critical platform for business-to-consumer (B2C) communications.Companies may be able to effectively manage consumers’ impression towards the organization through their interactions with consumers on Facebook” (Terrell & Kwok, n.d., p.2).
The social network perception puts stress on the relationships rather than the individuals (Brass, n.d.). It views organizations in society as a system of objects (e.g. people groups and organizations) joined by variety of relationships (Skerlavaj & Dimovski, 2006, p.89).
Diversified information resources and broader networks enhance the prospective of new experiences, numerous capabilities and further opportunities (Rubenstein, 2014).
Informal learning is made noticeable and unrestricted trough social media tools (Supporting Organizational Learning with Social Media, 2008).
Social networks are effective information mediums, hence, they help in the knowledge shifting and allow productive utilization of knowledge within the organizations (Erikson &Samila, n.d.).
Social Media and Innovation within the organization
Communication at the personal and professional level is highly affected by the introduction of online social networks. The motive behind developing social networking was to enable the employees to share their knowledge and collaborate informally holding to a systematic process within the organization. According to Van der Walt (2003)the capability of organizations in recognizing knowledge and then exploiting it for innovation leads the way to their success (cited in Stafford &Mearns, 2009).
Amidson (1999) states that innovation relates to the idea of creating knowledge, developing it , exchanging with others and lastly applying the new ideas for profitable goods and services. Through social networking, many people can communicate conveniently gaining an effective experience online.
Knowledge creation is the key motive of the organizations taking up social networking. (cited in Stafford & Mearns, n.d.). Social networking tools incorporated in the organizations like Dell, IBM help their employees to associate with one another to capture efficiency throughout the organization (Iverson, 2011).
Social networks help individual’s find answers to their queries effortlessly and instantly enhancing the knowledge-sharing process within the organizations. These tools play an important role in knowledge creation and pave the way for innovation. “Social networks can stimulate knowledge flows and serve as incubators for new ideas for marketable goods and services” (Liebowitz, 2007, pg.11).
Knowledge Management
An organization’s capability to generate, share and utilize the shared knowledge of its products, procedures and employees to enhance workplace competence is called knowledge management (Fontaine & Lesser, n. d.).
Knowledge management is naturally a shared process.Thus a wide range of collaborative technologies can be utilized to boost knowledge management practices (Jones, n.d.). Efficient knowledge management necessitates the need for right choices of procedures and measures (Paulin & Suneson, 2012).
Organizations make use of knowledge management to increase innovation. It is achieved through four key processes: knowledge identified and preserved, knowledge shared or combined with new knowledge, knowledge exploited and utilized, and new knowledge created (Liebowitz, 2007).
Case of IBM SmartCloud for Social Business
According to the Social Business Survey by IDC in 2010, the number of organizations, implementing an enterprise software solution, was 41%. Employees working in the sales and marketing sector extensively use social softwares to enhance awareness to foster their bond with the customers.
Unlike the other social networking sites like Face book, Twitter, Social Business uses its social software and hardware not to increase fans and followers but to innovate ways to help people in searching for the information required for task completion, decision making and originate novel ideas (Social Business Enterprise Strategy Accelerator, n.d.).
IDC’s Social Business survey revealed the following outcomes.
IBM has an open system of working across business units, perimeters and borders (How IBM is empowering the people to drive innovation, 2013).
Recently, IBM has initiated new cloud and mobile enabled social business software and service capabilities that will allocate line for business practices into the cloud to enhance decision making and boost productivity (IBM Extends Cloud and Mobile Reach with New Social Business Offerings That Empower Global Workforces, 2013).
The required tools for social business in cloud include: “enterprise-grade file sharing, communities, instant messaging, web meetings, user profiles, mails, and calender” (Why IBM Smart Cloud for Social Business, n.d.).
IBM SmartCloud for social business comprises social, mobile, mail and meetings capabilities. These solutions help the organizations in many ways:
- IBM SmartCloud Connections introduces innovative traits like mobile file sync and share. These features enable the employees to access the cloud and share significant documents online or offline. Sharing documents conveniently on the move leads to speedy innovation and brings latest products to market.
- Features like social bridging allow different communities from inside and outside the organization to share the social content in a single integrated manner.
- IBM SmartCloud Docs enables the employees to use the traditional office productivity tools into the social domain. The editing tools are helpful in revision management. These features are available through the cloud on browsers and mobile devices like the iPad.
- Extensive social capabilities in the framework of mail experiences are the noteworthy features of the IBM SmartCloud Notes. It provides an easy and convenient transition between the social tools, the ongoing projects and shared files. It also allows access to all messaging with a single click and provides improved administrator governance and control. General Manager, social business, Alistair Rennie says, “Successful workforces today are fuelled by powerful social technologies that give employees access to vital information and the insights of colleagues while on the go. We are giving business the opportunity to forever change how employees work through new powerful features that allow them easily to remain connected and productive from anywhere.”(IBM Extends Cloud and Mobile Reach with New Social Business Offerings That Empower Global Workforces, 2013).
New Developments
IBM’s upcoming SmartCloud for Social Business accessibility on SoftLayer’s foremost Infrastructure in a New Amsterdam data center embraces four fresh on-boarding services enabling swift move to the cloud. The innovative hybrid server allows companies to connect within the premises and cloud with a sole administration comfort and speed up their transition significantly.
IBM is also introducing Sametime 9, a further addition in social business. It makes it easier to move from an instantaneous message to a multi-way voice or video call and an online meeting. With a modernized user experience, the collaboration has become convenient.
At present, IBM social software is benefitting about 9,000 clients around the world. 75% Fortune 100 organizations are transforming their business processes through IBM SmartCloud.” (IBM Extends Cloud and Mobile Reach with New Social Business Offerings That Empower Global Workforces, 2013).
SafeGuard World International that provides managed payroll services globally has incorporated IBM SmartCloud for Social Business to facilitate the product management employees with fast and convenient business operations
The prime motive was to respond quickly to prospective matters while client implementation and improve risk mitigation and reduce project costs. Using IBM’s SmartCloud Engage, they have communications between employees and departments. It has benefitted the organization with 20 percent cutback in time it takes to implement new payroll services.IBM cloud solutions have also contributed in meeting the security needs of SafeGuard World (Greengard, 2013 ).
Recommendations and Conclusion
Diversified information resources and broader networks enhance the prospective of new experiences, numerous capabilities and further opportunities. Hence, the serving organizations are required to pull their external networks to keep themselves updated with the developing technological model. Here are a few recommendations that may benefit organizations with greater business prospects.
- Organizations should visualize becoming a social business and utilize improved workforce leading to an easy focus on the customers and business.
- Organizations should utilize innovative approaches in their work through social media development.
- Organizations should utilize social networking to understand the problems and opinions of customers regarding the company’s products. Interacting with the customers provides motivation for innovation (MacRae, 2013).
- Organizations should use social software and hardware to innovate ways to help people in searching for the required information.
- Organizations should implement new powerful features like IBM SmartCloud for social business that comprises social, mobile, mail and meetings capabilities and allow their employees to remain connected and productive from anywhere.
Organizational learning is attained through knowledge creation, transfer and knowledge management. Social networking influences organizational learning by fostering knowledge creation and transfer, knowledge management leading to innovation within the organizations.
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