Perceptions of Risks of Non-Advertising Uses of Micro-Blogging within Small to Medium Enterprises
This chapter is about the perception of risks of non-advertising uses of micro-blogging in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Risks of micro-blogging are defined as situations which involve exposing the organization and employees to danger. Few previous studies have been carried out into risks of internal micro-blogging in the corporate context. In the research presented in this chapter, initially a thematic analysis of previous literature on enterprise micro-blogging (EMB) was conducted. Following this, qualitative interviews were selected as the most appropriate method for data collection to explore understanding of the issues among practitioners. Twenty-one interviewees were conducted with SMEs in the area of South Yorkshire in the UK, during 2013. The participants were from organizations in the field of IT, Consultancy and Sports. The analysis of the qualitative data revealed new areas of risk in micro-blogging, which had not been identified in previous literature. Based on the data, a descriptive account of the risks is provided. The chapter concludes by introducing participants' views of how to mitigate such risks.