Social Media Applications for Knowledge Exchange in Organizations Requirements, Application, and User Acceptance in Industrial and Scientific Settings

With the broad success of Web 2.0, organizations have become int erested in using social media for professional applications. To date related research has mainly focused on the social impact of social media. However, little is known about the circumstances under which employees will invest time in using social media, especially the perceived benefits and its barriers within enterprises need further research. Different aspects of organizational knowledge management bring along different requirements for social-media-based solutions. This chapter focusses on providing both a theoretical background on social media acceptance and concepts, as well as empirical findings from practice and research investigating acceptance-relevant needs and demands of social media users in different contexts. Findings from practice corroborate that the complexity of the plethora of communication paths can be supported by social media. Findings from research reveal that regarding the users’ (emotive) needs is critical when dealing with sensitive communication/data. Combining both practice and research tries to bridge the knowledge gap existing in fast paced developments like social media.