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Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations

Received: 1 April 2020     Accepted: 20 April 2020     Published: 28 April 2020
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Abstract

This study explored social capital theory by investigating the relationship between enterprise social media use (ESM) as measured by an adapted instrument and employee belongingness as measured by the balanced measure of psychological needs (BMPN) scale of employees in USA, moderated by generational age groups. A survey of 155 employees from US corporations was conducted. The results support the theoretical model of social capital as well as three hypothesized relationships. While there was no significant relation between Social-related ESM use and employee belongingness, there was a statistically significant relationship between Work-related ESM use, age generation groups, and employee belongingness. Overall, Generation-X employees showed a higher belongingness score compared to Millennials, and even higher compared to Generation-Z employees. The results indicate that using an internal social media technology for work-related purposes can help employees feel that they belong and are a part of the social makeup of the organization. Work related social media use can also foster greater organizational social capital such as team building resulting in the achievement of organizational objectives and goals. These findings offer implications for research on social capital’s value as an asset for the organization as well as enterprise social media’s ongoing and ever-increasing value.

Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12
Page(s) 115-124
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Enterprise Social Media Use, Enterprise Social Networks, Employee Belongingness, Generational Differences, Social Capital

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Phillip Melvin Randall, Franklin Mister Lartey, Tywanda Dynel Tate. (2020). Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations. Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3), 115-124. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12

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    ACS Style

    Phillip Melvin Randall; Franklin Mister Lartey; Tywanda Dynel Tate. Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2020, 8(3), 115-124. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12

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    AMA Style

    Phillip Melvin Randall, Franklin Mister Lartey, Tywanda Dynel Tate. Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations. J Hum Resour Manag. 2020;8(3):115-124. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12,
      author = {Phillip Melvin Randall and Franklin Mister Lartey and Tywanda Dynel Tate},
      title = {Enterprise Social Media (ESM) Use and Employee Belongingness in US Corporations},
      journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {115-124},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.201200803.12},
      abstract = {This study explored social capital theory by investigating the relationship between enterprise social media use (ESM) as measured by an adapted instrument and employee belongingness as measured by the balanced measure of psychological needs (BMPN) scale of employees in USA, moderated by generational age groups. A survey of 155 employees from US corporations was conducted. The results support the theoretical model of social capital as well as three hypothesized relationships. While there was no significant relation between Social-related ESM use and employee belongingness, there was a statistically significant relationship between Work-related ESM use, age generation groups, and employee belongingness. Overall, Generation-X employees showed a higher belongingness score compared to Millennials, and even higher compared to Generation-Z employees. The results indicate that using an internal social media technology for work-related purposes can help employees feel that they belong and are a part of the social makeup of the organization. Work related social media use can also foster greater organizational social capital such as team building resulting in the achievement of organizational objectives and goals. These findings offer implications for research on social capital’s value as an asset for the organization as well as enterprise social media’s ongoing and ever-increasing value.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
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    AU  - Phillip Melvin Randall
    AU  - Franklin Mister Lartey
    AU  - Tywanda Dynel Tate
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12
    T2  - Journal of Human Resource Management
    JF  - Journal of Human Resource Management
    JO  - Journal of Human Resource Management
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0715
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200803.12
    AB  - This study explored social capital theory by investigating the relationship between enterprise social media use (ESM) as measured by an adapted instrument and employee belongingness as measured by the balanced measure of psychological needs (BMPN) scale of employees in USA, moderated by generational age groups. A survey of 155 employees from US corporations was conducted. The results support the theoretical model of social capital as well as three hypothesized relationships. While there was no significant relation between Social-related ESM use and employee belongingness, there was a statistically significant relationship between Work-related ESM use, age generation groups, and employee belongingness. Overall, Generation-X employees showed a higher belongingness score compared to Millennials, and even higher compared to Generation-Z employees. The results indicate that using an internal social media technology for work-related purposes can help employees feel that they belong and are a part of the social makeup of the organization. Work related social media use can also foster greater organizational social capital such as team building resulting in the achievement of organizational objectives and goals. These findings offer implications for research on social capital’s value as an asset for the organization as well as enterprise social media’s ongoing and ever-increasing value.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • School of Business and Technology, Capella University, Minneapolis, the United States

  • Cox Communications, Inc., Atlanta, the United States

  • Prosperity Business Solutions Group, LLC, Mobile, the United States

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