Social media have entered people’s lives forthrightly and spread into virtually all environments in which individuals can communicate and cooperate. Having served primarily as a means of personal communication for several decades, social media entered the realm of business relations and became an inseparable element of the majority of modern organizations. The key issues to be researched in the present paper are the use of social media by companies and employees and the effect these means have on organizational performance.
The issue of social media at a workplace has gained much attention in the latest research on organizational behavior. DuBrin (2019) argues that the Internet and social media era constitutes one of the most important developments in the evolution of organizational behavior, along with the classical approach to management and the human relations movement. Other crucial developments singled out by the scholar are the Hawthorne studies, the contingency approach to leadership and management, positive organizational behavior, and the rise of the new-age workplace (DuBrin, 2019). Thus, it is relevant to discuss social media in the dimension of organizational behavior due to the significance of this feature in modern work systems.
The Internet in general and social networks in particular have altered organizational behavior to a great extent. According to DuBrin (2019), rather than serving as an innovative approach to organizational behavior, social media and information technology developments are integrated into the work tasks of the majority of employees at all organizational levels. It is an uncommon practice in modern companies not to incorporate the use of the Internet by employees as a usual practice. The number of ways in which social media and the Internet can be utilized at a workplace is limitless. The most typical application of this approach is employees’ collaboration and communication via the firm’s social media networks along with public ones, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (DuBrin, 2019). Another example is the use of social media by leaders to motivate employees by sending emails and messages to them instead of arranging personal meetings. Also, companies can create websites for specific purposes, such as collecting employees’ ideas about the enhancement of a business strategy. All of these and some other approaches can be utilized to promote beneficial changes in companies’ development.
Along with numerous opportunities, the use of social media at work also poses some threats, the understanding and analysis of which adds value to the present study. Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson (2019) remark that the use of media does not always enhance the process of communication. For instance, an employee may not have sufficient confidence or competence necessary for using technology. As a result, a worker may feel unwilling or unable to participate in the pursuit of a company’s goals. Another drawback of social media’s frequent use is the decline of the value of opinions and ideas (Colquitt et al., 2019). An excessive amount of information, which can stem from the use of social media, can cause the spread of false data that eliminates the clarity of communication. For instance, the overabundance of information during crises can increase anxiety among people.
Apart from causing communication difficulties within companies, abundant access to social media can lead to negative consequences for employees who use it thoughtlessly. There have been cases when organizations fired workers because of their unflattering posts on social networks about their workplaces (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Sometimes, people’s personal opinions on vital social issues expressed on the Internet can lead to firms’ decision not to hire them or to fire them in case they are already employed. Robbins and Judge (2018) note that social media present both “a challenge and an opportunity” for organizational behavior (p. 41). Thus, several crucial issues should be considered in this regard. Firstly, human resource managers should endorse policies created to protect companies and employees from the negative effect of social media use. Secondly, firms should develop regulations to control workers’ access to social media at the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Finally, it is important to analyze the relationships between the use of social media and employees’ well-being and satisfaction.
Taking into account the above-mentioned arguments pertaining to the impact of social media on organizational behavior, it is necessary to investigate this issue at a deeper scale. Specifically, it is necessary to find out what recent studies have found about the problem. Additionally, it is crucial to seek answers to important questions concerning social media and organizational performance. The present paper will incorporate the review of scholarly literature on the topic, a methodology section, and recommendations and conclusions made on the basis of the obtained information.
The Review of Literature
The Models of Management Styles and Motivation Techniques
The Big Five personality traits
Among the most successful models of management styles and motivation techniques, it is viable to single out the Big Five personality traits, emotional quotient (EQ) competencies, Rackham’s behavior model, and the values in action inventory of strengths. The Big Five personality traits model involves a variety of independent characteristics that establish five broad types of personality: conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, openness, and neuroticism (Ahmad, Ather, & Hussain, 2014). Employees’ organizational behavior is determined by the combination of these traits in one’s personality. Conscientiousness refers to one’s reliability: workers with this trait are well-organized, responsible, and well-disciplined (Leephaijaroen, 2016). Agreeableness presupposes the ability to adapt to the environment and be collaborative, tactful, and cooperative. Extraversion involves the ability to be sociable and build relationships with people easily. Openness is the trait of open-minded employees who are inquisitive, original, and not afraid of innovations (Leephaijaroen, 2016). Finally, neuroticism (also referred to as emotional stability) is the feature responsible for one’s coping abilities and self-confidence. The Big Five personality traits are crucial in employees’ social media use since they allow finding and discussing the necessary information and communicating with people without difficulty.
EQ competencies
The EQ domains and competencies include self-awareness, social awareness, emotion regulation, and relationship management (Colquitt et al., 2019; DuBrin, 2019). Self-awareness is crucial for organizational behavior and performance since it allows managers and employees to understand and control their emotions (DuBrin, 2019). This facet enables coworkers to perceive the way their emotions affect others and regulate their behavior accordingly. Social awareness is another vital feature of EQ, which incorporates a high level of empathy and intuition about the company’s problems (DuBrin, 2019). A socially aware manager can easily identify how employees are disposed toward projects, such as the implementation of a social network within the organization. Emotion regulation is the ability to recover quickly from negative emotional experiences (Colquitt et al., 2019). The relation of this feature to the topic is that people need to regulate their emotions while using social media and not let them interfere with professional qualities. Lastly, the relationship management domain presupposes conflict disarmament, communication clarity, and persuasion (DuBrin, 2019). All of these features will be necessary for managers when implementing a social media network to make the process fluent and regulate potential misunderstandings.
Rackham’s behavior model
The theory, which was introduced by Rackham in 1971, involves a coding system for behavior analysis (Farley, Evison, Rackham, Nicolson, & Dawson, 2018). The purpose of the model is to code employees’ consecutive speech units during work meetings to obtain objective data that can be utilized for behavioral feedback. The primary reason for establishing the theory was the need to enhance employees’ reciprocal abilities. Rackham considered that before initiating the improvement of people’s skills, it was necessary to evaluate their verbal conduct (Farley et al., 2018). Rackham’s coding system of behavioral analysis incorporates thirteen categories divided into four meta-categories. The meta-category “initiating behaviors” includes proposing and building, which presuppose suggesting new concepts and extending others’ suggestions (Farley et al., 2018, p. 586). The meta-category “clarifying behaviors” involves giving and seeking information, summarizing, and testing understanding (Farley et al., 2018, p. 586). These behaviors include such skills as clarifying data to others, looking for data, summing up the information, and evaluating others’ perceptions.
The “reacting behaviors” meta-category is the most numerously represented in the system (Farley et al., 2018, p. 586). It is composed of five elements: supporting, disagreeing, blocking, defending/attacking, and open behavior. Supporting and disagreeing behaviors incorporate direct and conscious promotion or criticism of an argument, respectively (Farley et al., 2018). Blocking behavior is the one creating obstacles to suggestions unreasonably. Defending/attacking conduct either bolsters one’s position or contradicts it by means of value judgments. Open behavior makes the employee who has expressed some opinion vulnerable to criticism, mockery, or the loss of status (Farley et al., 2018).
The last meta-category in Rackham’s model is called “process behaviors,” and it includes the “bringing in” and “shutting out” types (Farley et al., 2018, p. 586). Bringing in is the type of conduct aimed at including new members in the group. Shutting out is the opposite since it presupposes the exclusion or an attempt to exclude someone from the group. Shutting out may be manifested through interrupting the members of the team, talking them over, or driving attention away from them by some other means. Rackham’s coding system is relevant to the present study since it allows identifying the most and least beneficial behavior types employees should be encouraged to demonstrate when utilizing social media within the organization.
Values in action (VIA)
The VIA classification of strengths was introduced by Peterson and Seligman in 2004 (McGrath, 2014). The model includes twenty-four strengths, which are divided into six categories: cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, civic, temperance, and transcendence (Harzer & Ruch, 2014). Cognitive strengths, responsible for knowledge acquisition, include creativity, interest, open-mindedness, love of learning, and wisdom. Emotional strengths, which are aimed at reaching the goal irrespective of obstacles, incorporate bravery, persistence, integrity, and vigor (Harzer & Ruch, 2014). Interpersonal strengths, which are focused on humanity, are love, kindness, and social intelligence. Civic strengths, emphasizing justice, involve social responsibility (teamwork), fairness, and leadership (McGrath, 2014). Strengths protecting against “excess–strengths of temperance” are mercy, modesty, prudence, and self-control (Harzer & Ruch, 2014, p. 185). Finally, the strengths responsible for creating connections with the “larger universe” include the sense of beauty, gratitude, optimism, humor, and spirituality (Harzer & Ruch, 2014, p. 185). The VIA classification will be of use when motivating employees to engage in the positive use of organizational social networks. The prevalence of such strengths at different levels will promote the enhancement of organizational performance and employee outcomes.
In relation to the four models of management and motivation techniques, the paper will focus on finding answers to the following research questions:
- What is the positive and negative effect of social media on organizational performance?
- What is the influence of social media on employee satisfaction?
- In what ways can social media be implemented at a workplace with positive outcomes?
Social Media and Organizational Performance
The independent variable of the study is the use of social media at a workplace, whereas the dependent one is the effect of social media on employee satisfaction and organizational performance. To understand these variables and the relationship between them better, existing research findings on the topic have been reviewed. The following aspects of the research theme prevail in recent studies: the connection between social media and organizational performance and the effect of social media on organizational performance. Other topics of the latest researches include enterprise social media and the use of social media by small- and medium-sized firms.
It is crucial to note that scholars pay sufficient attention to the investigation of social media’s impact on organizational performance, which justifies the significance of the selected topic. At the same time, a variety of angles of research signals that there is no unanimity of researches’ opinions on the issue. Parveen, Jaafar, and Ainin (2015; 2016) have focused on the effect of social media usage on organizational performance. Scholars remark that the rate of social media use in companies has increased “tremendously” (Parveen et al., 2015, p. 67). According to Parveen et al. (2015), firms create public pages on social media to enhance their prominence in social networks. Other motives are the improvement of people’s interest in their organizations and the establishment of relationships with Internet users. The authors note that too little attention has been given to the investigation of social media’s effect on organizational performance. Research findings by Parveen et al. (2015) indicate that the use of social media positively influences such aspects of organizational performance as customer relations, data accessibility, and cost reduction.
Scholars also emphasize the role of social media in reaching out to consumers. Parveen et al. (2016) note that the Web 2.0 philosophy, which dominates modern business relations, has turned social media into the gathering place of potential customers. With the help of Web 2.0, there is an emergence of opportunities for organizations to collaborate with their target audience. What is more, social media allow sharing information about one’s firm, as well as collecting data on potential clients (Parveen et al., 2016). Thus, companies employ social media to create and promote positive relationships with online customers. All of these aspects make social media a significant strategic tool that can be used for the enhancement of a business.
Researchers analyze the connection between knowledge, innovation, social capital, and social media. Garcia-Morales, Martín-Rojas, and Lardón-López (2018) report that the use of social media increases companies’ proficiency in acting on the promotion of entrepreneurial opportunities. What is more, the use of social media helps to reshape resources by stimulating social networks to turn the search for innovation and knowledge into regular tactics. Garcia-Morales et al. (2018) have found that organizational performance can be enhanced by increasing companies’ innovation capability and knowledge. Meanwhile, Ali-Hassan, Nevo, and Wade (2015) argue that there are three possible ways of applying social media in organizations based on the dimensions of social capital. Scholars note that there is insufficient data on the ways social media affect job performance. Still, Ali-Hassan et al. (2015) have aimed at shedding light on the problem by utilizing the social capital view. The authors have found that cognitive and social use of social media has a positive effect on organizational performance, whereas hedonic use has a negative influence. However, Ali-Hassan et al. (2015) also note that the hedonic use of technology positively affects the establishment of employees’ social connections.
Several scholarly studies are concerned with the analysis of enterprise social media as a productive method of affecting knowledge sharing and organizational performance. In their research, Ellison, Gibbs, and Weber (2015) note the growing importance of enterprise social networks in large modern companies. The authors emphasize the significance of such media for promoting the process of sharing knowledge within the organization. Kwahk and Park (2016) have investigated how knowledge sharing and organizational performance can be enhanced by social media. Scholars have found that the knowledge-sharing process is positively affected by social interaction links, self-efficacy, and the level of reciprocity. Furthermore, knowledge sharing has a beneficial impact on individual performance. Kwahk and Park (2016) emphasize that social media provide both individual users and organizations with unique opportunities, such as open-ended feedback and two-way communication. Thus, as scholars conclude, organizations can utilize social media platforms to increase their productivity, elevate the level of trust and communication among employees and managers, and keep track of important news and changes.
A study by Kane (2015) offers an analysis of the two paramount competences of organizational social media: building social networks and obtaining admission to digital data. Furthermore, Kane (2015) singles out two crucial effects of social media on companies: organizational performance and user behavior. The scholar notes that enterprise social media allow explaining people how social networks work and make it easier for employees to learn new ideas. With the help of visualizing and navigating tools, social platforms become user-friendly and promote workers’ assimilation of knowledge. Furthermore, Kane (2015) remarks that managers can evaluate and group employees’ knowledge and skills according to their social activity. The second major feature of enterprise social media, as explained by Kane (2015), is access to digital content along with the simplification of finding it. This capability is highly relevant since by being able to locate the necessary data on time, organizations increase their competitive advantage. By placing information and discussions on an enterprise social media network, companies gain a faster and easier search and storage of data. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that enterprise social media are viewed by scholars as beneficial innovations.
Another subtopic frequently raised in recent publications is the role of social media in small and medium firms. In their exploration of this aspect, Öztamur and Karakadılar (2014) have analyzed social media as a constituent of organizations’ strategic marketing. Scholars note that with the help of social media, small and medium firms can reach out to their customers and maintain communication with them. Öztamur and Karakadılar (2014) have found that American companies are more effective in utilizing Facebook than Twitter when arranging the means of connecting with clients. Wang, Pauleen, and Zhang (2016) also have found that the use of social media promotes small and medium firms’ performance. The authors stress the significance of social media as a tool for business-client communication. Wang et al. (2016) single out such important features of social media applications as the speed of transition, the ability to reuse data, and the possibility of training skills. At the same time, scholars note that along with the benefits presented by social networks, there is one issue that this approach currently lacks, namely, information security.
It is also noted in research that small and medium organizations can utilize social media to raise their financial resources portfolio and create value for their services and products. Braojos-Gomez, Benitez-Amado, and Llorens-Montes (2015) have investigated the possible ways of promoting small companies’ adoption of social media. The authors have singled out the following approaches small firms can use to enhance their social media competence: competitor tension, the capability of information technology infrastructure, innovation management, and marketing management. Additionally, Braojos-Gomez et al. (2015) consider the size of the company as a decisive factor in the process of social media adoption. Scholars argue that these factors can serve as powerful tools for developing social media proficiency. The study by Ainin, Parveen, Moghavvemi, and Jaafar (2015) also addresses the use of social media by small and medium firms. Ainin et al. (2015) have found that the most crucial factors affecting the use of social media include interactivity, affinity, and cost-effectiveness. Scholars note that the use of social media, in particular, Facebook, has a positive effect on the non-financial performance of firms, including customer satisfaction and data accessibility.
Methodology
In order to set the right direction for searching answers to research questions, such methods as archival study and secondary data analysis were selected. The preferred approach involved gathering, sorting, and analyzing information obtained from a considerable number of scholarly papers. First of all, it was necessary to analyze the issue of organizational behavior since it was the larger subject of the study. To learn more about this aspect and to prepare the introduction to the research paper, the most recent and relevant textbooks were utilized. One of the books, written by Robbins and Judge (2018), was reissued for the fourteenth time. Two other textbooks employed, by Colquitt et al. (2019) and DuBrin (2019), were published this year, and each of them was reissued for the sixth time. These facts about the sources indicate that they are highly reliable. Additionally, it is viable to mention that the authors of each of the three books are renowned professionals in the sphere of organizational behavior. The reason why three books were utilized rather than one is that it was possible to complement their findings to present the most comprehensive picture.
The next phase of the literature search was much more complicated and thorough since it involved looking for the most relevant academic articles on the topic selected. The databases that researchers addressed included Google Scholar, ProQuest, and EBSCO. These search engines are regarded as the most reliable and reputable, so sources located in them were considered as suitable for use. The papers were chosen based on their publication date (the past five years), reliability of a journal (peer-reviewed), and the qualification of authors. First of all, articles were searched by keywords and Boolean phrases. The most important of those were ‘organizational behavior,’ ‘organizational performance,’ ‘social media and organizational performance,’ ‘organizational social networks,’ ‘the Big Five personality traits,’ ‘EQ competencies,’ ‘Rackham behavior model,’ and ‘values in action.’ This way, it was possible to overview the general level of scholars’ interest in the topic. Then, search limits were set, such as peer-reviewed articles and the ones published between 2014 and 2019. These restraints allowed locating the newest and most reliable sources.
The final sample was composed of sixteen articles focused on such issues as the models of management styles and motivation techniques and the use and impact of social media on organizational performance. In both of the major topics, several subtopics were singled out, so the literature review was divided into two large parts with several subsections in each of them. The number of sources located for each subtopic varied from one to four. Five of the studies were concerned with management styles and motivation techniques, and eleven dealt with the use and effect of social media on organizational performance. The variability of sources allowed for a thorough analysis of the investigated issues and made it possible to find answers to research questions.
Discussion and Recommendations
The summary of the study findings is reflected in two tables with a discussion following each of them.
Table 1. The SWOT analysis of the models.
Despite some weaknesses and threats, each of the four models can be recommended to companies in the UAE due to their strengths and opportunities. The choice will depend on the human and material resources of the organization, the time it has at its disposal, and the eagerness of the management to evaluate the employees’ predisposition to social media use. From the point of view of the models’ comprehensiveness, VIA seems the most relevant option since it allows assessing all the types of strengths pertaining to an individual. However, if the firm has little time or resources, or if the number of employees is too large, it can employ Rackham’s model or EQ competencies analysis. The last model to be suggested in the Big Five personality traits since it is too rough and simplistic compared to other approaches.
Table 2. The levels of models’ effectiveness.
Based on the levels of models’ effectiveness, it is possible to recommend VIA as the best model for the UAE organizations. The application of this model will allow answering research questions to the fullest extent in comparison with other models. Specifically, VIA will make it possible to identify the level of employees’ cognitive and emotional readiness to the implementation of social media at a workplace both at the personal and interpersonal levels. Also, it will be possible to assess how employees’ satisfaction differs in various situations involving the application of social networks. Finally, based on the findings from these two questions, the third question will be answered. That is, the managers will be able to single out the features making the implementation of social media the most beneficial for the organizational performance.
Conclusion
The purpose of the study was to identify the use and effect of social media on organizational performance. The research design was the review of pertinent literature and its analysis. Findings indicate that the application of the models of management styles and motivation techniques considerably improve the process of social media implementation within organizations and enhance the level of organizational performance. The recommended system is VIA, but other systems may also be employed, depending on the size of a company and its resources.
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