Social media in business strategy: the learning and development implications

Abstract

Purpose – This article aims to consider why it is becoming so important for businesses to use social media, and to explore the transformational impacts on organizations and the implications for learning and development. Social media is changing the nature of business and introducing new learning and development needs. These are not confined to the specific skills required to design and implement social media strategies: in many companies, more extensive transformations of culture and organizational systems are necessary to support the new ways of working that are being driven by social media usage. Design/methodology/approach – The findings are based on a combination of literature review and our own research and experience across hundreds of projects. Findings – An organizational change readiness assessment exercise can be used to determine whether a company has the right types of skills and expertise and an appropriate organizational environment to maximize the benefits of social media participation, and to identify which areas need to be modified or strengthened. The specific requirements for change will vary by organization and industry, but few companies can now afford to neglect social media or the types of learning and development necessary to support their use as a core component of business strategy. Originality/value – This work links the benefits of social media participation to leaning areas that need to be modified or strengthened.