Extending Social Capital through Online Social Networks (OSNs) in Rural Australian SMEs

Geographically isolated rural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face multiple challenges in an increasingly digitised, and networked business environment. Online Social Networking (OSN) tools and technologies may bridge time and distance gaps, complementing face-to-face knowledge sharing and the development of Social Capital (SC). We followed a qualitative case study approach to identify how rural Australian SMEs extend their knowledge sharing activities and SC through the use of OSNs. Our findings suggest that rural SMEs’ adoption and use of OSNs is a three-stage journey starting with no OSN use, followed by marginal OSN use, and ultimately active OSN use. We highlight that SC development through OSNs require: i) a willingness to extend face-to-face knowledge sharing in SNs to OSNs, ii) a planned OSN communication and networking strategy, iii) introduction of multiple OSN channels to interact with customers/clients and stakeholders, and iv) guarding against the unbounded sharing of competitive knowledge in OSNs