Enterprise social media impact on human resource practices

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individual attitudes toward using enterprise social media (ESM) impact trust, explicit and tacit knowledge sharing as well as work performance in emerging economies. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use data from a survey of 293 employed individuals in Lagos, Nigeria, who work at organizations that have ESM systems. Findings: The authors find that ESM usage is significantly associated with trust. However, ESM usage does not impact explicit or tacit knowledge transfer. Practical implications: This paper provides empirical evidence that individuals who perceive high levels of performance expectancy will engage in ESM usage which in turn increases trust amongst colleagues. Human resource managers can argue that by adopting ESM, they can facilitate improved trust and collaboration through online engagement amongst employees. This is important for multi-national organizations wanting to expand into emerging economies where the organization and local workforce need to foster trust in knowledge sharing. Originality/value: There has been little evidence regarding HRM use of ESM in emerging economies. By understanding individual attitudes toward ESM and how the use impacts knowledge sharing, the academic discussions concerning use of technology to enhance knowledge sharing can continue to evolve.