Internal social media's impact on socialization and commitment.

Abstract

Social media technologies present an opportunity for organizations to create value by acclimating new employees and increasing organizational commitment. Past research has indicated that many organizations have leveraged social media in innovative ways. The purpose of this study is to investigate an internal social media tool that was designed and implemented as part of a new hire program with the objective of socializing new hires in hopes of increasing employee commitment. A survey was administered to approximately 458 IT employees of a large, financial institution and 198 employees responded. This dissertation suggests that work related social media use is associated with role clarity and normative commitment. It also suggests that social related social media use is associated with knowledge of organizational culture, social acceptance, and affective commitment. In this dissertation, two types of social media use, four indicators of socialization and three indicators of commitment were analyzed. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the findings and recommendations for future research on social media.