The Social Web: Leveraging Social Capital to Maximize Relationships and Minimize Churn in the Telecommunications Industry

As innovation in technology continues to be a driving force in the telecommunications industry, companies are left struggling to provide services of equal caliber to maintain satisfaction and remain relevant in the eyes of consumers. Because of this, a common misunderstanding many companies have is thinking that the best way to retain or acquire new consumers is solely through innovation. While still very important, companies must also strive to better understand the needs of their customers with regard to the cultivation and maintenance of social capital. The purpose of this thesis was to examine how social capital is becoming a driving force for the telecommunications industry and determine the importance of social capital with regard to the relationship between wireless carriers and consumers in attempting to minimize churn. A sample of students at the University of Mississippi was surveyed and asked about their frequency of social network site (SNS) use on their smartphone, purpose of using SNSs, user satisfaction and likelihood to churn. The study found that higher satisfaction was associated with a lower likelihood to churn. It also found higher SNS use was associated with higher levels of social capital. Finally, the study found that higher levels of subclinical narcissism, while not significantly related to SNS use, have a significant relationship with higher levels of social capital