Drivers of posting strategic organizational information on Social Media by Employees: A case of Kenya Civil Aviation Authority

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the drivers of posting strategic organizational information on social media by employees at Kenya Civil Aviation Authority a state agency in Kenya. Social media though enhance efficiency in transaction of business in organizations, have also brought in challenges. Employees have been found guilty of generating content pertaining to the organization’s business strategy and post it online using their internet-enabled smartphones which reside outside full control of the organizations. Such content could go viral before being noticed by management and could injure the business of the organization. Yet establishing organizations and careers require huge resources and when any organization goes under many stakeholders lose their source of livelihood. In addition, unemployment rate becomes a challenge to the government. Previous studies have demonstrated how organizations and employees suffered from the effect of social media content they post. The aim of this study was to find out why employees post strategic organizational information on social media. The research questions were: why do employees post strategic organizational information on social media? What are the effects of posting strategic organizational information on organizations and employees? What strategies were in place to mitigate posting of strategic organizational information on social media? The research approach was qualitative and the research method was a case study. The sampling technique was purposive, where twenty-two participants were sampled from a population of management and employees from the organization. Seventeen employees based at Eldoret branch, two Human resource managers (Administration and Training), Information Communication Technology (ICT) manager, Corporate Communication Manager and Manager in-charge of consumer protection based at the Head Office Nairobi participated in the study. Data was generated using interview schedules and analyzed thematically. The study established that posting of strategic organizational information through social media was driven by personality, working environment and social networking. Posting of strategic information affects both the organization and employees. A part from mainstream media regulations and firewalls within the organization, there were no social media regulations to regulate use of social media in the organization. The need for information flow was a concern to the employees in organization that the management may enhance so that employees get information on time to avoid anxiety which could be expressed in the form of grapevine and strategic information be defined clearly to every employee and be informed about the consequence of sharing such information. The management may create some forum where employees air their views without being victimized. The organization may also come up with social media regulations and communicate to the employees in order to leverage on social media. Finally, the study recommended further studies to be carried out to establish whether mainstream media regulations apply to social media use in organizations in Kenya. This study did not consider this aspect for it was necessitated by its conclusion.