The evolution of social technologies
Leading companies have passed through
three distinct phases of organizational usage. What should we learn from them?
Since the dawn of the social-technology era, executives have
recognized the potential of blogs, wikis, and social networks to strengthen
lines of company communication and collaboration, and to invigorate knowledge
sharing. Many leaders have understood that by harnessing the creativity and
capabilities of internal and external stakeholders, they can boost
organizational effectiveness and potentially improve strategic direction
setting. But they have also found that spreading the use of these new
technologies across the organization requires time to overcome cultural
resistance and to absorb the lessons of early successes and failures. Social
technologies, after all, raise new sensitivities, seeking to breach
organizational walls and instill more collaborative mind-sets.
McKinsey’s long-running research into
enterprise use of social technologies provides a unique vantage point for
examining the nature and pace of this evolution. Surveys of more than 2,700
global executives over each of the last ten years have probed technology
diffusion within organizations and the patterns of technology adoption.1
Our review of survey data spanning the
years 2005 to 2015 suggests three distinct, progressively more sophisticated
phases of usage. Companies in our sample began with trial-and-error
applications—for example, using social platforms such as YouTube to expand
their marketing mix to attract younger consumers. They then switched their
focus to fostering collaboration. Most recently, some have deployed social
technologies to catalyze the cocreation of strategy. Across this spectrum, we
also found that companies shifted the mix of technologies and expanded the
terrain of application.
Climbing
the learning curve
Social-networking sites (such as Facebook
and LinkedIn) and microblogging platforms (such as Twitter and Yammer) remain
the tools of choice in the pursuit of broad communication and collaboration.
After an initial spate of enthusiasm, the adoption of blogging as a
leadership-messaging tool leveled off. Wikis have had less impact historically,
and their use has stalled. We also found clear evidence that social networks
have expanded and become better integrated, with companies first moving to interact
with customers, then creating networks linking both employees and outside
stakeholders.
Finally, we observed benefits from
adoption. The most widespread was greater access to knowledge and to experts
within and outside the enterprise. More recently, companies have achieved cost
reductions—for example, through more efficient internal communications and the
use of video and knowledge-sharing platforms to engage with customers remotely
rather than traveling to see them. The multiplication of knowledge channels
drove process improvements such as faster time to market and improved product
and service quality.
Three
stages of enterprise usage
As these technology choices and
capabilities evolved, we found that they defined three periods of usage. This
evolution is dynamic, with some companies at the leading edge and others
catching up.
Tryouts
Beginning in the mid-2000s, companies
began testing social technologies within business units and within functions
such as marketing to improve critical functional tasks. Marketers used Facebook
or YouTube to acquire new customers or for interactions with existing
customers, for example, to build relationships with social influencers.
Collaboration
and knowledge work
Our data show that starting around 2010, a
more collaborative approach emerged, with advanced companies adopting internal
platforms such as Chatter, Connections, and Yammer to connect employees.
Two-thirds to three-quarters of respondents during this middle stage said they
were using social technologies to foster more collaboration, gather insights,
or manage knowledge systematically. For example, companies searched pools of
knowledge and talent across the organization to assemble project teams with
relevant expertise.
Strategic
insights
In the most recent evolutionary phase,
social technologies have been supporting and shaping strategy, opening up to
wider participation and scrutiny in an area that has long been considered the
preserve of an organizational elite.Technology usage has matured at many
companies that have forged internal and external networks, encouraging a range
of stakeholders to participate in strategy development.
As part of this broadening base of
participation, companies are encouraging enterprise crowdsourcing—systematically
looking both inside and outside the organization for innovative new ideas for
problem solving and augmenting products and services. LEGO is one well-known
example of a company that has embedded crowdsourcing into its innovation
processes, and it is far from an outlier. More than half of the surveyed
organizations see further blurring of boundaries among employees, vendors, and
customers as social technologies create new processes for marshalling ideas.
While this openness to crowdsourcing on an
operational level is becoming more common, greater inclusiveness and
transparency on a strategic level has emerged only lately. Nearly half of
respondents in recent surveys said they were using social technologies to
develop competitive intelligence, while a quarter said they were using the
tools to develop strategy or marketing plans. Thirty-seven percent said they
were using social technology to cocreate and share the organization’s mission
and vision in some manner.
Daimler’s Business Innovation Community
(BIC), launched in 2008, is an example of an open strategy initiative enabled
by social technology. Charged with developing new business models in a
transparent, inclusive way, BIC set out to identify new growth areas beyond car
manufacturing. Some 30,000 registered practitioners have posted 2,000 ideas in
BIC’s digital space. After several successful pilot projects and spin-offs,
such as new mobility concepts (for example, car sharing and end-to-end journey
management) powered by mobile apps, Daimler now is planning a follow-up to the
initiative.
Companies in our study that have tried to
set strategic priorities from the bottom up report a flattening of management
hierarchies and in some cases deeper employee involvement through allocation of
resources using social-voting mechanisms. Forty-seven percent of executives
said that such democratization of strategy would intensify over the next three
to five years.
Many companies are climbing the ladder in their use of
social technologies. Continuing the expansion of their strategic role will open
more pathways, allowing executives to tap new sources of creativity. It also
will require a deeper understanding of the risks and unexpected outcomes that
are part of a more porous and inclusive strategy-setting environment. We hope
this ten-year perspective offers leaders who may feel behind the curve a view
of what to expect on the way up.
By Martin Harrysson, Detlef Schoder, and Asin Tavakoli
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/the-evolution-of-social-technologies?cid=digistrat-eml-alt-mkq-mck-oth-1606
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