Communicating social media policies: evaluation of current practices

Abstract

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to explore the main characteristics of corporate social media guidelines (SMG) and determine whether companies communicate these guidelines effectively to employees. Design/methodology/approach – An analysis of corporate SMG is conducted using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) formerly used to assess business and ethical codes. The sample is comprised of 20 multinational companies that publish their SMG online. Findings – The results indicate the majority of the guidelines received average scores across the CVF framework, which implies the guidelines barely manage to stimulate change, direct action, provide facts or emphasize the importance of building trust. Research limitations/implications – A possible limitation of the research could be the issue of interpretability of the features of the framework. Hence, the quality of the research depends on the quality of the training raters receive prior to the guideline rating process. Additionally, the researchers were limited with the guideline availability and could analyze only the guidelines available online. This analysis can be broadened by identifying factors that may influence the characteristics of the guidelines (e.g. corporate culture or industry). Practical implications – Managers can use this framework to analyze their companies’ guidelines to reveal the gaps, point to opportunities for improvement or take the findings into account when developing new guidelines. Originality/value – The first paper that analyzes corporate SMG and their respective characteristics.

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