Article Preview
TopIntroduction
ICT revolution has created new channels of communication. The various internet driven modes of communication are email, instant messaging tools, video- and photo- sharing sites and social networking sites (Mooney, 2009). Social media is about the interaction of people, in which they create, share, exchange and comment contents among themselves in virtual communities and networks (Ahlqvist et al., 2008). According to an IBM (2012) study, there is growing emphasis on openness, employee engagement and collaborations in organizations. CEOs regard interpersonal skills of collaboration (75 percent), communication (67 percent), creativity (61 percent) and flexibility (61 percent) as key drivers of employee success to operate in a more complex, interconnected environment.
Ciber (2012) have found that collaborating, authoring, conferencing, scheduling, meeting tools and social networking sites have become important social media tools used. Boyd and Ellison (2007) have defined social networking sites as web-based services which enable individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system; articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection; and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within a network system. Use of social networking sites has become very popular in organizations for it is believed to enhance self esteem and instill feeling of independence among users and empower them to connect with old friends, relatives, colleagues, and people of similar interests globally. A study by Google (2012) with the London based marketing and social media group Millword Brown which surveyed 2700 professionals in western Europe revealed that out of those respondents who used social media for their job “frequently” (at least once a week), 86 percent reported that they were promoted very recently and 72 percent said they were likely to be promoted. It is of pertinent importance that studies should be conducted to find the interdependency between employee personality, selection of social media tool for communication, social media behavior, employee performance and quality of life. According to a SHRM report, though 55% of companies are making investment on social media, only 12% pay cognizance to return on investment in social media.
Virtual community identification, trust and satisfaction were found to be guiding factors in building customer loyalty in online communities (Pai& Tsai, 2011). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) defined social media as having three components, namely, concept (art, information, or meme); media (physical, electronic, or verbal); and social interface (intimate direct, community engagement, social viral, electronic broadcast or syndication, or other physical media such as print).
In recent years there have been several studies linking Big Five Personality Types: Agreeableness, Consciousness, Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness-to-Experience with social network behavior (see, Hughes et al., 2012, Ryan and7 Xenos, 2011; Amichai-Hamburger and7 Vinitzky, 2009; Jensen et al., 2009). But however there were no significant studies on understanding of psychometric characteristics of individuals through social media analytics. Companies may be interested in having employee and customer insights through the analysis of social network behaviour.
This paper attempts to throw light on how various dimensions of Big-Five Personality types can be for predicted by social media or network behavior and motivation through an empirical research. Since cultural values and attitudes are closely linked with personality we would also find the personality types may be linked with Rockeach Cultural Value; so that indirect linkage between social network behavior and cultural values can be established.