Acquiring information for the social organization: the role of social media use and social capital

In the modern social media environment, social organizations use social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to engage with the actual stakeholders and seek new ones. The aim is to exchange, share and acquire information that could enhance the social capital and be useful in the decision-making process of social organization.

This study explores whether the use of social media determines a positive impact on the accumulation of social capital and on the generation and acquisition of information by the social organization. We further explore these issues by categorizing social media activities as used for maintaining current stakeholders and seeking new ones. Empirical analysis of the hypothetical models through structural equation modeling yields supportive results for the positive impacts of social media on the process of generating and acquiring information to the social organizations, either directly or indirectly, through the positive contribution of social capital, which also positively affects the amount of information collected. The study contributes to our understanding of the role of social media and social capital that precede and determine information acquisition. It has practical implications for the relevance of using social media to retain and seek new stakeholders that enhances social capital and improves the collection of information for the social organizations.