Evaluating the effectiveness of social media on knowledge management systems of small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa

Abstract

Social media platforms are evolving rapidly as alternative options for effective communication in businesses. With communication being the force behind the evolution of knowledge management systems in organisations, the literature highlighting the potential of social media to transform the knowledge management systems has risen exponentially. However, in the small, medium, and micro enterprise context, social media is used informally in the knowledge management processes, resulting in a high failure rate by knowledge management systems to achieve their intended outcomes. This study draws from that observation and proposes a theoretical model for evaluating the effectiveness of social media on the knowledge management systems of the small, medium, and micro enterprises in South Africa. The model was developed using the diffusion of innovation theory to explore social media characteristics that influence the overall quality of the knowledge management system; uses and gratifications theory to explore the determinants of using social media to influence the quality of the knowledge derived in the system; unified theory of acceptance and use of technology version 2 to explore the support activities that influence the quality of the service provided by the knowledge management system in the small, medium, and micro enterprises; and the knowledge management system success model to explore the factors that influence successful adoption of knowledge menagemnt systems in the small, medium, and micro enterprises of South Africa. An explanatory sequential mixed-method approach was conducted within small, medium, and micro enterprises that operate in the information and communication technology industry, advanced manufacturing industry, and smart industries, located in Gauteng, South Africa to explore the concepts of the developed model. The quantitative research approach was first conducted in phase one of the study using a web-based survey questionnaire of 227 small, medium, and micro enterprise owners and managers selected at random. Subsequently, a qualitative study was then conducted using semi-structured interviews of 13 small, medium, and micro enterprise owners and managers selected purposively using the maximum variance purposive sampling technique to explain the findings of the quantitative approach. The findings of the study revealed that compatibility and relative advantage are the two social media characterestics which positively influence the quality of the knowledge management system; coordination and immediate access are the two determinants of using social media which positively influence the quality of the knowledge derived in the knowledge management system; facilitating conditions provide the necessary support activities by small, medium, and micro enterprises to positively influence the quality of service of the knowledge management system; and the system quality and service quality are the two knowledge management system success factors which positively influence user’s intention to continue using social media to support the knowledge management system, with user’s intention to use for social media highly influencing the net benefits of the knowledge management system of small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa. The results also revealed that knowledge quality is also a success factor with a positive influence on user satisfaction of the use of social media to support the knowledge management system. However, there was not enough evidence to suggest that user satisfaction has an influence on the net benefits of the knowledge management system. The developed model serves as guidance to small, medium, and micro enterprise owners and managers when implementing social media to support their knowledge management systems. The model also highlights important relationships to be considers by academics when developing social media and knowledge management adoption models for small, medium, and micro enterprise.