The Effects of Enterprise Social Media on Communication Networks

TL;DR

This study uses a difference-in-differences approach on 99 companies to show that enterprise social media platforms enhance communication network density, connectivity, and cross-hierarchy information flow, surpassing traditional email and messaging tools.

Contribution

It introduces a causal analysis of ESMPs' impact on corporate communication networks and their role in connecting hierarchical levels more democratically.

Findings

ESMPs increase network density and connectivity.

ESMPs bridge different parts of the communication network.

ESMPs facilitate cross-hierarchy communication.

Abstract

Enterprise social media platforms (ESMPs) are web-based platforms with standard social media functionality, e.g., communicating with others, posting links and files, liking content, etc., yet all users are part of the same company. The first contribution of this work is the use of a difference-in-differences analysis of $99$ companies to measure the causal impact of ESMPs on companies' communication networks across the full spectrum of communication technologies used within companies: email, instant messaging, and ESMPs. Adoption caused companies' communication networks to grow denser and more well-connected by adding new, novel ties that often, but not exclusively, involve communication from one to many employees. Importantly, some new ties also bridge otherwise separate parts of the corporate communication network. The second contribution of this work, utilizing data on Microsoft's own communication network, is understanding how these communication technologies connect people across the corporate hierarchy. Compared to email and instant messaging, ESMPs excel at connecting nodes distant in the corporate hierarchy both vertically (between leaders and employees) and horizontally (between employees in similar roles but different sectors). Also, influence in ESMPs is more `democratic' than elsewhere, with high-influence nodes well-distributed across the corporate hierarchy. Overall, our results suggest that ESMPs boost information flow within companies and increase employees' attention to what is happening outside their immediate working group, above and beyond email and instant messaging.