Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of a specific company's intranet social networking tools on building and leading a culture of collaboration in a corporate environment. The problem is the implementation of knowledge management and networking tools by a company for the purpose of collaborating, learning and replicating information across the enterprise without measurement of the receptivity of the corporate culture to use the tools effectively. This study focused on assessing the effective use of social networking tools to enable collaboration success in virtual on-line teams rather than physically co-located teams. A validated survey, the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory, was sent to 650 employees of a large, global technology company and 178 employees responded. The participants were asked to provide demographic information, indicate participation in a virtual, on-line community and respond to 40 statements associated with 20 collaboration success factors. Study findings indicate that 2 of the 4 demographic characteristics proved to be statistically significant with regard to participation in on-line collaborations using intranet social networking tools: age and company tenure. Preference was strongly indicated for 2 of the 10 intranet tools listed in the survey. Responses for all but 1 of the 20 collaboration success factors were statistically insignificant. Thus, it can be generalized from these results that significant differences exist among the ages and tenure of these virtual group members, as well as the collaboration tools they prefer. In addition, a favorable political and social climate for building and leading a culture of collaboration was found at the company used for this study.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Dissertations (EdD) -- Organizational leadership; Leadership; Management; Social media

Date of Award

2011

School Affiliation

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Department/Program

Education

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

Penderghast, Thomas;

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