Proceedings of 5th Annual American Business Research Conference
6 - 7 June, 2013, Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel, NY, USA, ISBN: 978-1-922069-24-5
Online Social Networks and Employee Productivity:
A Longitudinal Study
Andrea Potgieter*
In 2008, a study was conducted in the University of Johannesburg's
Faculty of Management, to determine the perceived impact of Online
Social Networks on the productivity of this Faculty's employees. The
survey was distributed to 183 employees and obtained a response rate of
48.6%. In 2012, the survey was repeated and sent to 145 employees
(with a response rate of 44.8%), within the same Faculty, to establish a
longitudinal comparison of how these perceptions have changed. Both
times, the survey was complimented by a qualitative survey with openended questions, directed at key individuals dealing with either the
instruction or administration of Web-related matters at the University of
Johannesburg. The purpose of this paper is to report on the initial findings
of the survey in 2008 and discuss the consequent results in 2012. The
study concluded that employees increasingly recognize the value of
Online Social Networks in a professional context.
Management, Organizational Behavior
*Ms. Andrea Potgieter, Department of Information & Knowledge Management, University of Johannesburg,
South Africa. Email: apotgieter@uj.ac.za