Life punishes those who don’t participate?! The interaction taking place in digital social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Xing – among others – as well as in blogs is increasingly turning into a driving force for corporate changes. But in this context, actual messages and news in these new canals are somewhat less important for corporate governance 2.0 than the style of this interaction in the web. Both internal and external stakeholders, used to browsing digital social networks and thus familiar and comfortable with the style of interaction to be found there, are expressing new demands which question the traditional understanding of leadership. “Digital natives” are asking for more communication, integration and co-creation, the sharing of knowledge monopolies and the appreciation of employee initiatives.
It is hard for companies to extract themselves from such demands; digital networking does not only infiltrate companies via Web 2.0-savvy members of staff, but is increasingly used as a popular tool in daily corporate life. Clients, partners and employees start to network, using the web for acquisitions, sales, order processing or communication, as a platform for commerce or work. The Internet becomes the door to the outside world. But once a door is opened, things don’t only get out, they get in as well. In the end, due to its seemingly endless possibilities for interaction, the web has a power that transcends all system barriers. There are hardly any companies who can extract themselves, let alone withstand this development.
This is most visible in young companies, especially in those which have a business model that wouldn’t work without Internet. But this development cannot be held up and has also reached companies that have existed long before the era of Internet began. Here, things that are barely worth mentioning in young companies often have to be learned the hard way. What triggers anxiety at management level are in most cases the fear of losing control and the limited foreseeability of communication through social media as they still perceive planning and controlling to be a part of their very own task.
Letting go, leading according to the situation, and knowing and using the principles of self-organization are just some of the challenges that managers have to face in this context.
Not an easy task, as it means a complete paradigm shift for many executives as there are will always be employees in companies with a long tradition who don’t like or don’t feel comfortable with the Web 2.0 culture. Which, by the way, is not necessarily a question of age.
But still, understanding and coping with digital social networks is indispensable for a company in today’s culture – simply because social media and the far-reaching changes it incites in corporate communication and cooperation do happen, with or without the active contribution of the market participants.
In fact, there still remains a lot of research do to when it comes to finding out how social media really functions. But one thing is for sure: that it is absolutely vital for a company to make it a part of its agenda.