Enterprise Social Media: Definition, History, and Prospects for the Study of Social Technologies in Organizations
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 1-19, 2013
19 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2013 Last revised: 7 Aug 2014
Date Written: June 23, 2013
Abstract
Social media are increasingly implemented in work organizations as tools for communication among employees. As these technologies begin to proliferate across the enterprise, it is important that we develop an understanding of how they enable and constrain the communicative activities through which work is accomplished because it is these very dynamics that constitute and perpetuate organizations. We begin by offering a definition of enterprise social media and providing a rough historical account of the various avenues through which these technologies have entered and continue to enter the workplace. We also review areas of research covered by papers in this special issue and papers on enterprise social media published elsewhere to take stock of the current state of out knowledge and to propose directions for future research.
Keywords: Enterprise Social Media, Affordances, Organizing, Technology Use, Social Networking, Workplace, Communication
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