An Investigation Into Social Media Usage of Publicly Traded Companies

Published date01 November 2015
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22113
Date01 November 2015
71
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).
DOI 10.1002/jcaf.22113
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An Investigation Into Social Media
Usage of Publicly Traded Companies
Ali Uyar and Ender Boyar
INTRODUCTION
Technology
impacts the business
world as it does every
aspect of our lives.
There is a growing
tendency for digital
corporate report-
ing. This continuum
was initiated by the
Internet toward the
end of the 20th cen-
tury. Currently, it has
gained momentum
with the development
of smartphones and
social media. These
developments shorten
the time to deliver
corporate messages
to stakeholders and
enhance efficiency
in decision mak-
ing. However, how
aware corporations
and managers are
of this fact and to
what extent they use
social media incom-
municating corporate messages
to stakeholders are not well
known yet.
Social media can be
described as “online tools
where content, opinions, per-
spectives, insights, and media
can be shared”
(Nair,2011, p. 45).
While social media
tools were origi-
nally developed for
individual use, they
can be well used for
corporate communi-
cation (Djordjevic,
2013). Superiority
of this new form of
communication over
other tools is dyna-
mism, which enables
interaction between
corporations and
stakeholders. Unlike
traditional methods
of communication,
social media helps
corporations get
feedback from stake-
holders instantly and
incorporate them
into their manage-
rial decision‐ making
process. Social media
can also be utilized
for communication
both internally and exter-
nally. Within the company,
it accelerates decision mak-
ing, increases efficiency, and
Social media is the recent years’ phenomenon;
however, it is becoming an increasingly important
platform of business organizations for communi-
cation with stakeholders. Firms that explore the
power of this new way of communication gain
advantages in the marketplace, since it enables
fast interaction with employees and customers.
In the accounting field, it is providing opportuni-
ties for communication with stockholders and
other stakeholders, and can be used as vehicle
of corporate reporting. Thus, the topic deserves
to be researched from an accounting perspective
as well as from other disciplines’ perspectives.
This article investigates the social media usage
of listed companies at Borsa Istanbul, Turkey. The
findings indicate that although some firms use
social media, the usage is not at satisfactory level.
Therefore, significance of social media should be
brought to the attention of managers and board
members of firms. They should develop a road
map to use social media for the execution of firm
strategy and for effective communication with
stockholders and other stakeholders.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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