Going digital: Developing social capital through online social networks in regional SMEs—An Australian study

Abstract

In an increasingly competitive and digitalized business environment, regional SMEs have multiple opportunities to extend their face-to-face networking activities to the digital realm. However, there is scant research on regional Australian SMEs use of online social networks (OSNs) to network and develop social capital. This paper follows an interpretive qualitative research approach to identify how 13 regional Australian SMEs from four sparsely populated regional areas use OSNs to enable knowledge sharing and the development of social capital. Our empirical findings classified regional Australian SMEs' use of OSNs into three categories: low, medium, and high, while also identifying OSN use opportunities. We propose four propositions related to OSN adoption and use to share knowledge and develop SC: (i) implementing an OSN adoption and use strategy as part of a larger digital strategy, (ii) investing in and adopting a variety of OSN channels for knowledge sharing, (iii) gradually replacing face-to-face knowledge sharing with OSNs, and (iv) controlling the sharing of competitive SME knowledge when using different OSN channels. These findings are significant to encourage regional Australian SMEs to adopt and use OSN to improve innovation opportunities through networking and collaboration in an increasingly digitalized realm.