The Role of Social Media in Multinational Corporations

Social media is a technology incorporating the use of computers to simplify the distribution of information and sharing of ideas as well as the construction of computer-generated networks (Leonardi, Huysman, & Steinfield, 2013). Social media design is majorly internet-based and provides the users with efficient electronic communication on personal issues and also through photos and videos. The social media users usually use various electronic gadgets such as tablets, computers, and smartphones. The fast-growing technology has led to the creation of numerous social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram., Twitter, WhatsApp among others which have consequently enhance communication far and wide (Ellison, 2007). Business organizations, both small and multinational enterprises have adopted the use of social media to improve their daily sales through product promotion on the various social media platforms. Hence, the undertaking of this assignment is focused towards establishing how social media including LinkedIn, Facebook, as well as Twitter can be utilized to enhance knowledge sharing, building social capital, support innovation, and aid problem-solving in Multinational Corporation (MNC) such as “Adidas Company”. The study also conducts a cross-analysis on the various risks associated with the use of social media in the multinational corporation.

Social Media as a Platform for Sharing Knowledge in Multinational Corporation

As illustrated by Majchrzak, Faraj, Kane, and Azad (2013), knowledge is often perceived as a fundamental resource essential in producing a sustainable longstanding competitive advantage. It is the aptitude of organizations and people to learn, understand, and act effectively. For an individual to cope with an organizations’ daily routines, it is essential that they are equipped with knowledge which is also essential in handling various situations within a work setting. Organizations having an outstanding vision to operate, thrive, and compete in the persistently evolving world, mostly evident in the multinational corporation such as “Nike Inc.”, are always forced to do much analysis and put more concentration in knowledge development for its workers. The sharing of information between the human resource personnel is usually an essential element in knowledge management. Mainly, most organizations always have the challenge on the communication line they can adapt to enhance efficient sharing of knowledge among the employees (Vernuccio, 2014).

However, the most significant technological advancement which led to the development of the internet in the 20th century has hence enabled most multinational corporations to tackle their challenges based on knowledge sharing. The Internet has made it easy for people to connect, share knowledge, documents, videos, photos, and also collaborate across the world without the limitation of time or distance (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Furthermore, the development of the internet has enabled people as well as business organizations especially the multinational corporations to adopt the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp to facilitate communication within the work environment. Through this, most multinational organizations have been able to share information, knowledge, and ideas across the world, a strategy that has hence been effective in propagating knowledge to every employee of given multinational organizations across the world. The use of LinkedIn has made it convenient for most Multinational corporations especially the “Adidas Company” to advertise for their vacancies which have made accessible for the corporations to find suitable candidates to fill the job vacancies.

Social Media as a Support Innovation in Multinational Corporation

Arguments posted by Tsai (2001) illustrate that social media has got significant innovative contents that make it different from conventional sites. Social media sites can create their private contents by editing, tagging, sharing, and reshaping other people’s contributions and also carry out peer discussions (Andersson, Forsgren, & Holm, 2002). Through such forums, new ideas that are essential for the growth of business organizations emerge. Furthermore, the process also enables people to discuss various technological ideas thus promoting innovation. Multinational corporations for example Acer Inc. have hence adopted the use of group charts in WhatsApp platforms which enable them to obtain new technological ideas that they incorporate in their management to make them more productive and competitive in the market (Phene & Almeida, 2008).

As argued by Leonardi, Huysman, and Steinfield (2013), advanced technology development and globalization has created a significant impact on the marketing strategies of the multinational corporations. The internet through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linked has emerged to be an essential element in the present day’s technology revolving around business and organizations. Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) illustrate that popularity of social media sites creates numerous impacts on the daily interactions of people across the world since they serve as platforms for sharing of innovative ideas. This has hence shaped every element of commerce, especially in the multinational corporations. The emergence of social media sites has enabled multinational corporations to be much innovative, an innovation that has made them develop social networks that serve as marketing channels (Tsai, 2001). The social networks are combined with the traditional channels of marketing and regarded as an element of the market mix. Hence, the development of the social media platforms has enabled the multinational corporations to be much creative and in their management styles. Based on the argument, innovation characterized by social media sites, specifically, LinkedIn has enabled multinational corporations for instance the “Acer Inc” to make significant amendments on their traditional way of managing customer’s relationship which was perceived to be ineffective and inadequate for the corporations to interact with their potential customers.

As stated by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media platforms have extensively impacted the branding system of numerous multinational corporations. Brand image and brand awareness enhance customer’s relationship with the companies. Therefore, through social media platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram have enabled multinational corporations to generate ideas from their customers concerning their brands which enabled them to insert maximum innovation towards their brands to meet the potential customer’s demands. Similarly, the use of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have enabled multinational corporations to interact with some critical features which they can include in their products for the benefit of the companies (Phene & Almeida, 2008). Through this, the multinational corporation has developed viral product features in their product design that creates peer-to-peer influence thus encouraging adoption. The innovations that have led to the development of viral product features have consequently increased the market shares of multinational products significantly. Similarly, the innovation has enhanced personalized invitation, generated an automated notification of the activities of the users, and has also enhanced communication between the customers and the business corporations (Ellison, 2007).

Social Media as a Tool for Building Social Capital in Multinational Corporation

Social capital is an important element of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and entails the processes of engagements in the communities which is expected of the corporations in order to succeed. Social capital provides an understanding of the internalization and externalization channels by which there is the flow of knowledge effectively. It increases the efficiency of the multinational corporations in their external networks with other companies and promotes the measures of finding alternative employment means, retention, and motivation of the employees. Social media, especially the social networks such Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Imo, and Viber, has become a key element that plays a significant role in the definition and development social capital (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2017). In this context, social media is an effective tool of building social capital in Multinational Corporation (MNC) particularly in “Axis Bank Ltd.” because it involves the use of emerging information technology that promotes the social networking activities of social groups. Social network builds social capital of multinational corporations in the communities. In other words, social media networks take advantage of community technology consequently acting as the strong tie that bridging type of social capital (Williams & Durrance, 2016).

Steinfield, DiMicco, Ellison, and Lampe (2009) reported that social media encourages the use of internet that strengthens the ties of community involvement to influence to influence collective efficacy, a concept related to the local social capital of multinational corporations. The internet use fuels social connection among groups of persons via the social sites. The improved connection of people through the use of social media among the members of multinational corporations serve to boost their local connections and involvements and they also use the social networking platforms for advancing political purposes, an important element of social capital. The strong social ties improved by the use of social media act as thick trust of intensive daily contacts for mutuality and support within the exclusive and homogeneous communities. The aspects of mutuality and support within the community members where the multinational corporations and their respective employees operate is a recipe for bonding social capital. The bonding social capital is characterized by the increased use of the internet to promote social connection via the social media (Steinfield et al., 2009). The situation is instrumental for increasing the processes of information sharing and promoting the integration of different groups of people into one social environment of the multinational corporation. In this regard, social media is an input of social capital.

Therefore, social media is a fundamental technological resource that promotes the social capital in the sense that it makes something not only to belong to the multinational corporation but also the community at large. As hypothesized by Wasko and Faraj (2015), it is thus inarguable that social media inspires the principle of social connection through the sharing of information. Social connection is a form of community wealth. The community wealth affiliated to the improved social connectedness of people provides legitimacy to the organizations. Hence, without the use of social media to ensure that there are good social relationships both among the community and the organizations, the multinational corporations will barely be artificial constructs. In this context, social media is an essential tool for acquiring external support, relationship, and resources in multinational corporations. Whenever social media is used as the instrument for building social capital, the organization gets cushioned from dissolution. The multinational corporations, for instance, enjoy perpetual existence by undergoing transformations to act as the agents that promote the interests of the communities (Wasko & Faraj, 2015), which is an extension of social capital.

Social Media as an Instrument for Solving Problems in Multinational Corporation

Approximately five challenges are facing Multinational Corporations that can be effectively solved through social media. The first significant challenge is weak brand awareness. Social media acts as a better platform through which a broader audience can be reached. Besides, the reason behind why an individual makes a post is essential to success (Chin, Evans, & Choo, 2015). Every post, tweet, or update builds an impression on the mind of the users. Social media can be used to solve the problem associated with weak brand awareness by taking an initiative of identifying what can make a business organization as well as its products more valuable. Therefore, Multinational Corporations for instance “Aditi Technologies” must define why people should go for them rather than their competitors. To ensure this is accomplished, the corporations can use social media sites search as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp groups to make people aware of their brands.

The persistent decline in customer retention is another problem within Multinational Corporations that can be solved effectively through social media in the sense that it social media platforms are considered as most significant platforms through which customers can keep in touch with their potential customers. Hence, to solve the problem of ever-increasing decline in customer retention, multinational corporations can consider using social media sites and embracing them as communities through which like-minded individuals to come together and share ideas. Good customer relationships created through social media can improve views and offline relations (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Poor online reputation is also a problem evident within multinational corporations that can be fixed through social media. Hypothetically, approximately ninety percent read to go through online reviews although 2% of them do not trust them. 85% of those who read the online reviews o not make purchases from businesses having negative reviews (Chin, Evans, & Choo, 2015). Therefore, multinational corporations can use social media platforms to post products as well as information that will attract positive reviews to enhance the growth of their sales.

As illustrated by Turban et al. (2017), nonexistent or decreasing connection with customers is another hindrance to the growth of multinational corporations. There have been numerous shifts in the efficacy of social media for the past six years. One significant problem most multinational corporations encounter in the fast-growing social media marketing is how to connect with their prospective customers on a personal level. Multinational corporations can solve the challenge by monitoring social media sites and responding accurately to various questions raised on the channels. To enhance business-customer connection, corporations can engage with the comments of Facebook users and also respond to the questions raised through Twitter and Instagram.

Multinational corporations are also subjected to a challenge of slow sales (Kane, 2015). Hypothetically, the use of social media is one strategy that multinational corporations can implement to ensure that there is a growth in their sales. By publishing attractive contents on the social media, the corporations lay ground for an advanced engagement. Therefore, multinational corporations can use Facebook ads to establish and as well reach the ideal customers. However, the ads must be able to compel the buyers to view.

Effects of Social Media on Multinational Corporations

Despite the positive significances, social media contributes to multinational corporations, there are risks associated with its adoption in multinational corporations that cannot be disputed (Klein, 2015). The use of social media may result to data leakage or theft which may subject the corporations to crucial risks, there can be issues based on brand hijacking which exposes customers to fraudulent, and lack of corporate content control may also emerge as a risk which may arise if employees post wrong data on social media platforms. Besides, there might be risks associated with improper management of electronic communications which might be characterized by e-discovery (Boughzala & De Vreede, 2015).

Conclusion and Recommendations

The fast-growing technological developments which has led to the establishment of several social media platforms has been a very a great achievement across the globe. Social media sites has served as an essential platform where people from diverse communities, nations and from different continents interact and share their thoughts together. Social media platforms have laid a common ground on which people from far can easily interact, hence, they bring the world together. Since the sites involve thousands of people, business organizations especially multinational corporations should take advantage of the sites and use them for product promotions. Facebook, Twitter accounts, Instagram, and WhatsApp are better social media platforms that increase the sale of multinational corporations. Even though there are risks associated to the use of social media, the advantages out do the disadvantages, besides, the shortcomings of the social media use can be regulated. Hence, it is advisable for Multinational corporations and other businesses to adopt the use of social media platforms for promotion purposes.

References

Andersson, U., Forsgren, M., & Holm, U. (2002). The strategic impact of external networks: Subsidiary performance and competence development in the multinational corporation. Strategic Management Journal, 23(11), 979-996.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Boughzala, I., & De Vreede, G. J. (2015). Evaluating team collaboration quality: The development and field application of a collaboration maturity model. Journal of Management Information Systems, 32(3), 129-157.

Chin, C. P. Y., Evans, N., & Choo, K. K. R. (2015). Exploring factors influencing the use of enterprise social networks in multinational professional service firms. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 25(3), 289-315.

Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.

Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2017). The benefits of social media on social capital in multinational organizations. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168.

Kane, G. C. (2015). Enterprise social media: Current capabilities and future possibilities. MIS Quarterly Executive, 14(1).

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68.

Klein, A. G. (2015). Vigilante media: Unveiling anonymous and the hacktivist persona in the global press. Communication Monographs, 82(3), 379-401.

Leonardi, P. M., Huysman, M., & Steinfield, C. (2013). Enterprise social media: Definition, history, and prospects for the study of social technologies in organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(1), 1-19.

Majchrzak, A., Faraj, S., Kane, G. C., & Azad, B. (2013). The contradictory influence of social media affordances on online communal knowledge sharing. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(1), 38-55.

Phene, A., & Almeida, P. (2008). Innovation in multinational subsidiaries: The role of knowledge assimilation and subsidiary capabilities. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(5), 901-919.

Steinfield, C., DiMicco, J. M., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2009). Bowling online: social networking and social capital within the organization. In Proceedings of the fourth international conference on Communities and technologies (pp. 245-254). ACM.

Tsai, W. (2001). Knowledge transfer in intraorganizational networks: Effects of network position and absorptive capacity on business unit innovation and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 44(5), 996-1004.

Turban, E., Outland, J., King, D., Lee, J. K., Liang, T. P., & Turban, D. C. (2017). Electronic commerce 2018: a managerial and social networks perspective. Los Angeles, CA: Springer.

Vernuccio, M. (2014). Communicating corporate brands through social media: An exploratory study. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(3), 211-233.

Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2015). Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge contribution of social networks in organizational practice. MIS Quarterly, 35-57.

Williams, K., & Durrance, J. C. (2016). Social networks and social capital: Rethinking theory in community informatics. The Journal of Community Informatics, 4(3), 1-20.