See you at LinkedIn - The complex link between employees and organizations
(2019) SKOK11 20191Department of Strategic Communication
- Abstract
- The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how employees perceive their LinkedIn usage in relation to their organization. To increase the awareness of how organizations can work strategically with LinkedIn the link between organizations and employees has been studied. Other studies examining LinkedIn have mostly had a recruiter perspective or have not considered users as employees at an organization.
The research is conducted by using a qualitative method, where the authors interviewed eleven employees at three different corporations. The interviews were made to gain a deep understanding of the employees’ perception and usage of the networking site. The origin of the study is within strategic communication, with... (More) - The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how employees perceive their LinkedIn usage in relation to their organization. To increase the awareness of how organizations can work strategically with LinkedIn the link between organizations and employees has been studied. Other studies examining LinkedIn have mostly had a recruiter perspective or have not considered users as employees at an organization.
The research is conducted by using a qualitative method, where the authors interviewed eleven employees at three different corporations. The interviews were made to gain a deep understanding of the employees’ perception and usage of the networking site. The origin of the study is within strategic communication, with contributing research about the Corporate Value Circle, alignment, and vision, culture, and brand. Additionally, the Uses and Gratification theory is used to gain knowledge about the participant's motivations of using LinkedIn.
The findings show that sharing organizational related content at LinkedIn goes beyond just sharing content with organizational values, but rather, it is a channel where they can manifest. Employees can be seen as vital third-party endorsers, although the relationship is both complex and needs careful ethical consideration. The study also showed that for the organization to create shareable content on LinkedIn the employees’ needs and finding the right tonality is the most vital aspects.
Findings from this study findings show that through communication activities, such as through the creation of relevant LinkedIn content, organizational values can get reflected through their employees. Further research could be able to investigate if this can create a stronger alignment for the organization as a brand. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Syftet med denna studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur medarbetarna ser på sin användning av LinkedIn i förhållande till sin organisation. För att uppnå detta krävs en djupare förståelse för medarbetares användning och upplevelse av LinkedIn. Tidigare studier som undersöker LinkedIn har främst fokuserat på hur rekryterare kan använda plattformen och inte hur enskilda medarbetare använder plattformen. Genom att undersöka den komplexa länken mellan organisation och medarbetare i det digitala rummet kan vi öka medvetenheten om hur organisationer strategiskt kan arbeta med plattformen.
För att uppnå syftet har författarna använt en kvalitativ metod bestående av elva intervjuer med anställda från tre olika företag. Detta gjordes för att... (More) - Syftet med denna studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur medarbetarna ser på sin användning av LinkedIn i förhållande till sin organisation. För att uppnå detta krävs en djupare förståelse för medarbetares användning och upplevelse av LinkedIn. Tidigare studier som undersöker LinkedIn har främst fokuserat på hur rekryterare kan använda plattformen och inte hur enskilda medarbetare använder plattformen. Genom att undersöka den komplexa länken mellan organisation och medarbetare i det digitala rummet kan vi öka medvetenheten om hur organisationer strategiskt kan arbeta med plattformen.
För att uppnå syftet har författarna använt en kvalitativ metod bestående av elva intervjuer med anställda från tre olika företag. Detta gjordes för att få en djupare förståelse för medarbetarnas perspektiv och deras motivation till att använda LinkedIn. Studien tar avstamp i strategisk kommunikation med ett ramverk av teorier såsom Corporate Value Circle, VCI-modellen och Uses and Gratification Theory.
Resultatet från undersökningen visar att medarbetare är angelägna att representera sin organisation eftersom det även kan främja deras egen aktivitet på LinkedIn. Däremot har medarbetarna olika motiv till deras användning som påverkar hur de använder sig av plattformen. Därför är det viktigt för organisationen att skapa delningsbart innehåll som utgår från vad medarbetarna önskar och anpassa tonaliteten därefter. Medarbetarna kan fungera som tredjepartsintyg för organisationen om det finns en förståelse för relationens komplexitet och de anställdas integritet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8979272
- author
- Gustavsson Larsson, Agnes LU and Steinbock, Sofia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Ses på LinkedIn - den komplexa länken mellan medarbetare och organisationer
- course
- SKOK11 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- LinkedIn, Employee perspective, corporate communication, strategic communication, alignment, branding, medarbetarperspektiv, organisationskommunikation, strategisk kommunikation, varumärke
- language
- English
- id
- 8979272
- date added to LUP
- 2019-06-10 10:21:23
- date last changed
- 2019-06-10 10:21:23
@misc{8979272,
abstract = {{The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about how employees perceive their LinkedIn usage in relation to their organization. To increase the awareness of how organizations can work strategically with LinkedIn the link between organizations and employees has been studied. Other studies examining LinkedIn have mostly had a recruiter perspective or have not considered users as employees at an organization.
The research is conducted by using a qualitative method, where the authors interviewed eleven employees at three different corporations. The interviews were made to gain a deep understanding of the employees’ perception and usage of the networking site. The origin of the study is within strategic communication, with contributing research about the Corporate Value Circle, alignment, and vision, culture, and brand. Additionally, the Uses and Gratification theory is used to gain knowledge about the participant's motivations of using LinkedIn.
The findings show that sharing organizational related content at LinkedIn goes beyond just sharing content with organizational values, but rather, it is a channel where they can manifest. Employees can be seen as vital third-party endorsers, although the relationship is both complex and needs careful ethical consideration. The study also showed that for the organization to create shareable content on LinkedIn the employees’ needs and finding the right tonality is the most vital aspects.
Findings from this study findings show that through communication activities, such as through the creation of relevant LinkedIn content, organizational values can get reflected through their employees. Further research could be able to investigate if this can create a stronger alignment for the organization as a brand.}},
author = {{Gustavsson Larsson, Agnes and Steinbock, Sofia}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{See you at LinkedIn - The complex link between employees and organizations}},
year = {{2019}},
}