Catalysts for Social Media Adoption in the Public Sector in Africa

Catalysts for Social Media Adoption in the Public Sector in Africa

Robert Ebo Hinson

This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the factors that serve as catalysts for social media adoption by public sector firms in Africa. Using the Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework, this chapter explains how social media technology is adopted and used by public sector organisations in Africa. Social media adoption is an organisational context, and hence the TOE can best be used to understand the factors affecting the adoption of the technology. On the technological factors, African countries have the capability to fully use their technological capabilities to introduce all social media platforms. The crucial issue of concern is that public sector organisations must see social media as having potential benefits to promote communications. The external environmental factors involving pressure from government and citizens for public sector organisations to use social media is mainly due to the increasing use of the technology by citizens across Africa. In most African countries, governments have policies in place to take advantage of the enormous benefits of social media. This chapter argues that several organisational factors, including top management support, resource availability, and skilled human resource to sustain social media technologies are significant tonic factors that catalyse the adoption of social media by Africa’s public sector.

2023

This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the factors that serve as catalysts for social media adoption by public sector firms in Africa. Using the Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework, this chapter explains how social media technology is adopted and used by public sector organisations in Africa. Social media adoption is an organisational context, and hence the TOE can best be used to understand the factors affecting the adoption of the technology. On the technological factors, African countries have the capability to fully use their technological capabilities to introduce all social media platforms. The crucial issue of concern is that public sector organisations must see social media as having potential benefits to promote communications. The external environmental factors involving pressure from government and citizens for public sector organisations to use social media is mainly due to the increasing use of the technology by citizens across Africa. In most African countries, governments have policies in place to take advantage of the enormous benefits of social media. This chapter argues that several organisational factors, including top management support, resource availability, and skilled human resource to sustain social media technologies are significant tonic factors that catalyse the adoption of social media by Africa’s public sector.