In-between self-marketing and collaboration: Researcher identity formation in the usage of academic social network sites

Abstract

Academic social network sites (ASNS) are a special case of social networking sites, providing a professional identity for management scholars online. Due to the particular requirements of academic work, usage patterns deviate from those on other social networking sites. The study presented here takes an in-depth look at needs and gratifications in the usage of ASNS. In contrast to earlier studies of the same kind, it includes social influence from the academic community as another theoretical lens to identify cross-individual effects. Based on 19 interviews with members of a community in business and management research, the study discusses knowledge and information transfer, enjoyment and entertainment, social interaction and professional belonging, self-promotion and escapism as critical issues in using ASNS. For each of these issues, the study reveals various patterns in which gratifications are affected by social influence. They can be considered as specific characteristic of ASNS in the contexts of scientific research and teaching that contribute to a better understanding of the specificities of social media usage in academia.