Title: Microblogging practices of virtual organisations: commonalities and contrasts

Authors: Jing Wang; John M. Carroll

Addresses: College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA ' College of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Abstract: Microblogging is becoming increasingly pervasive in computer-supported collaboration, providing new opportunities for organisations to support their effective operations. However, research on microblogging practices at the organisational level, especially in virtual organisations, is very limited. To enhance the understanding of how virtual organisations use microblogs in similar and different ways, we investigate microblogging practices of two virtual organisations by examining the content characteristics of their Twitter posts. We identify ten categories of microblog themes of three dimensions, consisting of both common and different categories between the two organisations. We further discuss how the commonalities and contrasts of microblogging practices between the two organisations serve organisational objectives and work activities in similar and different ways, and compare these practices of virtual organisations with other types of microblogs.

Keywords: microblogging; social media; virtual organisations; organisational design; microblogs; computer-supported collaboration; virtual enterprises; Twitter posts.

DOI: 10.1504/IJODE.2013.057017

International Journal of Organisational Design and Engineering, 2013 Vol.3 No.2, pp.149 - 164

Published online: 26 Jul 2014 *

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