Social media integration in electronic human resource management: Development of a social eHRM framework
| Author | Danial Arjomandy |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1380 |
| Published date | 01 June 2016 |
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
Social media integration in electronic human
resource management: Development of a social
eHRM framework
Danial Arjomandy*
Polytechnic University of Milan
Abstract
Social media has dramatically changed how we communi-
cate both in life and in business. Accordingly, I conducted
a qualitative analysis of electronic Human Resource
Management (eHRM) practices involving social media.
The sample consists of 16 organizations varying in size
(e.g., Fortune 500 vs. small enterprises), industry (e.g., prod-
uct vs. service-based) and sector (public vs. private). Based
on the review, I developed a Social Participation Framework
involving two dimensions—openness and stratification—
that are reflective of variations in the user domains associ-
ated with a given application. The combination of these
dimensions yielded four alternative models of social media
eHRM implementations: open, internal, specialized, and
segmented. These in turn tended to be associated with differ-
ent types of eHRM goals. A best practice example of each
model is provided, and opportunities for future research
are identified. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: social media, integration, eHRM, participation,
framework
Résumé
Les médias sociaux ont profondément modifié notre façon de
communiquer aussi bien dans la vie de tous les jours que
dans le monde des affaires. Dans le présent article, je pro-
pose une analyse qualitative des pratiques en matière de
Gestion électronique des ressources humaines (GeRH) faisant
intervenir les médias sociaux. L’échantillon est composé de 16
organisations de taille (par exemple Fortune 500 vs petites
entreprises), d’industrie (par exemple entreprise de produits
vs entreprise de services) et de secteur (public vs privé) vari-
ables. En m’appuyant sur la revue des travaux antérieurs,
j’élabore un Cadre de participation sociale comprenant deux
dimensions—l’ouverture et la stratification—et reflétant les
variations ayant cours dans les domaines d’utilisateur associés
à une application donnée. La combinaison de ces dimensions
débouche sur quatre modèles différents de mise en application
des médias sociaux dans la GeRH, à savoir : ouvert, interne,
spécialisé et segmenté. Ces modèles tendent, à leur tour, à être
associés aux différents types d’objectifs de la GeRH. Je pro-
pose un exemple de meilleure pratique pour chaque modèle
et explore des pistes pour les recherches futures. Copyright
© 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mots-clés : médias sociaux, intégration, GeRH, participa-
tion, cadre
The business potential associated with ongoing real-time
contributions from social media is becoming increasingly
evident across all functions, including those focused on hu-
man capital such as the Human Resources (HR). Interest-
ingly, with regard to advancements in information
technology, the HR function has often been an early
adopter. For example, in the 1960s, mainframe-based sys-
tems were used to track salaries for payroll and reporting
purposes (Gherson & Jackson, 2001). HR was also an
early, enthusiastic user of the World Wide Web and related
Internet-based technology (Stiffler, 2001). The combined
use of information technology and the web as a two-way
organizational communication tool is the foundation of
the electronic human resource management (eHRM) re-
search domain (Stone & Dulebohn, 2013).
This manuscript was accepted at the 5
th
international eHRM Conference in New
York City in July 2014. I sincerely thank my thesis supervisor Dr. Luca Solari for
his worthy comments and contributions during the initial phase of development of
this paper. Moreover, I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of Dr. Sandra
L. Fisher in the revision process of the manuscript; her many recommendations
resulted in a more readable and professional paper. Last butnot least, I would
like to thank Dr. Peter Bycio as well as one of my best friends, Zack Bolton,
who both assisted with the copyediting and English proficiency of the article.
*Please address correspondence to: Danial Arjomandy, Email: danial.
arjomandy@mail.polimi.it
Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration
33: 108–123 (2016)
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1380
Can J Adm Sci
33(2), 108–123 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 108
As information technology has continued to evolve,
there has been a dramatic change in the meaning, content,
and context of social networking, which has morphed
from in-person encounters at conferences, parties, business
luncheons, and so forth to a digital experience intertwined
with the emergence of social media capabilities (Roberts
& Roach, 2009). The initial reaction of the business
community to social media was largely one of suspicion
in which organizations attempted to shield their em-
ployees and their internal operations by blocking its use
(Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Over time, the reality of social
media as a new facet of technology with potentially
important HR applications has become apparent. In this
paper, the social media aspects of eHRM are referred
to as Social eHRM. Only recently have the implications
of these applications received coverage in HR-related
business school curriculum (e.g., Catano, Wiesner, &
Hackett, 2015).
The use of social media in business continues to
expand to include marketing, employer branding, and re-
cruitment, which all involve a wide variety of internal
and/or external communication. For example, since the
acquisition of human capital is essential to the survival
of all organizations, social eHRM was recognized early
on as an effective means to facilitate broad-based recruit-
ment efforts. With regard to the HR function overall, the
joint application of socialization tactics and recent web-based
capabilities has the potential to result in the formation of
a social eHRM system. Accordingly, the major aim of
this paper is to present a framework that organizations
can use to decide how to best integrate various kinds of
social media capabilities into their eHRM efforts, using
either well-known existing platforms (e.g. Facebook), or
by introducing new systems tailored to their specific
needs.
While practitioner-based examples and discussions
concerning the impact of social media on HRM abound,
to advance research, a consistent framework is required
that meaningfully classifies the practices of various com-
panies with regard to social media integration. Thus, in
this paper, an extensive analysis and comparison of
HR-related social media applications is undertaken and
applied to develop a framework to differentiate among
the practices. I will show that the manner in which social
media is applied in organizations varies systematically ac-
cording to the domain of users who are targeted, such
that the ideal model for social media integration varies
as a function of the eHRM goals involved. Thus, the
Social Participation Framework presented helps decision
makers in organizations think critically about their target
groups and their eHRM goals to ensure that the systems
put in place will be of optimal value, be it a Twitter
account with thousands of followers, or an employee-
only internal forum for virtual socializing. In all, the
framework will illustrate how social media applications
can be designed to foster many commonly stated eHRM
goals.
Theoretical Framework
Social Media
Social media can be described as “a group of Internet-
based applications that build on the ideologicaland technolog-
ical foundations of Web 2.0, and allow the creation and
exchange of User Generated Content”(Kaplan & Haenlein,
2010, p. 61). Emphasized here are Internet-based applications
empowered by Web 2.0 ideology and technology (O’Reilly,
2007) that are driven by end users as opposed to single au-
thors; Facebook and YouTube are prominent examples of
multi-authored Web 2.0 applications; single website-based
profiles do notqualify as Web 2.0 capable, or as a socialmedia
platforms. Thus,for example, in defining a social media appli-
cation, the supporting technology involved is important as it
differs from Web 1.0static pages in the capability of end users
to both create and consume content.
The current importance and ongoing potential assigned
to social media is tied to its worldwide usage across all types
of people, from households using technology for entertain-
ment or for the management of daily affairs, to high profile
political applications reflected in the campaign of US Presi-
dent, Barak Obama (Oluseyi & Gallop, 2010). Kaplan and
Haenlein (2010) classified social media uses into six types:
(a) Collaborative Projects such as Wikipedia; (b) Blogs;
(c) Content Communities such as YouTube or Flicker; (d)
Social Networking Sites (SNSs) or Social Networking
Websites (SNWs) such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace;
(d) Virtual Game Worlds such as World of Warcraft; and (e)
Virtual Social Worlds such as Second Life. As detailed
below, many examples of each type were found among the
companies sampled in this research.
Social Media at Work
Potential gateway to the HR department. A high
level presence on SNWs by individuals creates links among
the users of these media, which can be very useful to organi-
zations. High availability, accessibility, and the large vol-
ume of information concerning individuals on social media
encouraged businesses to explore its use, for example, in
recruiting, to find the right person for a particular opening
at the lowest cost and in optimal time. Interestingly, social
media was never originally intended for use by employers
(Kluemper & Rosen, 2009).
In an application of the Delphimethod to collect data from
HR managers and academics in Europe, Heikkilä (2010) f ound
that social media use ranked highest in terms of having major
implications for future HRM practice. Recent statistics from
searchenginejournal.com revealed that 80% of companies use
social media for recruiting, and that 95% of them use LinkedIn
SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION IN ELECTRONIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ARJOMANDY
Can J Adm Sci
33(2), 108–123 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 109
To continue reading
Request your trial