Pan-Pacific Conference XXXIV. Designing New Business Models in Developing Economies

Perceptions of financial institutions towards social media adoption to business etiquette:
a case of South African commercial banks
Khulekani Yakobi
Walter Sisulu University
Private Bag X6030, Mthatha, 5099; South Africa, +27475011427,+27788479119
Khulekaniy4@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study aim to assess perceptions of using social
media for business etiquette. This study employed a
quantitative research approach whereby questionnaires
were distributed to two commercial banks with the
population size of 194 employees. Of these, 102 were
returned and completed successfully, thereby generating
a response rate of 53%. Among major findings in this
study, the study reflected observations which suggest that
employees are free to express how they feel through
social media platforms, whereby 61% agreed, 14% were
undecided, and 26% disagreed. This study will contribute
to both the body of knowledge and financial institutions
since there are scant publications on this subject.
Keywords: communication, business model, business
etiquette, employees’ perceptions, information
INTRODUCTION
Commercial banks struggle to fully control
confidentiality [1;2; 3]; this is due to exercises imposed
by employees through social media as banks employees’
are evident to practice freedom of speech which
legitimizes employees to reveal information. This
perspective has triggered this study to be responsive on
strategic issues that will help financial institutions which
will be epigrammatic for every organization to manage
the adoption of social media. [4] assert that banks need to
start taking the social media industry seriously and
develop a clear strategy. The prompting argument in this
present study posit that financial institutions have been
distastefully captured by intense battles of perceptions of
using social media in commercial banks. In their business
etiquette, social media is evident as a medium which
distorts communication in all levels of structures of
ABSA and Standard Bank, which have enormously
confused their organizational settings and business
models.
The primary aim of this study is to assess the perceptions
which employees of financial institutions have towards
adopting and using social media on commercial banks’
business etiquette. [5] indicate that it is unknown how
users’ perception professional social media usage might
differ from the private context in which implicit or
explicit etiquette criteria apply. This study was also
triggered by the employees in commercial banks who
have gained autonomy to reveal information which
continues to impinge on implications where employees
use social media to gossip. [6] avers that due to the rapid
advances of information technology and its enormous
processing and storing capacity, privacy protection has
become particularly important in the informational
dimension. The aim of this study is to examine
commercial banks’ perceptions towards adoption of
social media in their business etiquette.
The next section critically reviews existing literature on
social media adoption to business etiquette, followed by
methodology. Research findings will be presented and
subsequent discussions will be provided. This study
draws conclusions and provides recommendations.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Social media adoption across financial institution has
revolutionized business etiquette because during the
advent of social media, bank employees have taken for
granted the control and use of information. Proliferation
of social media and the widespread adoption of these
media tools have brought dramatic changes in the
business environment [7]. Commercial banks have no
exceptions with regards to this dramatic impact of social
media. Social networks have changed communication,
shifting the way we consume, produce and interact with
information, based on explosive migration to the web [8].
[9] indicates that social media is emerging as a most vital
tool of different kinds of communication equipped with
the ability to share information, mould opinion and
connect individuals and communities and tools of active
participation. These above-mentioned assumptions are in
alignment with this present study and are feasible as the
banking industry, nowadays, has been impinged and
inflicted by ubiquity of social media, which continues to
impose alternative resorts of adoption of its components
to fit business etiquette in commercial banks. [10] posit
that rapid progress in technology seems to have more
impact on changes in the banking industry than any other
one.
According to [11], as in advanced economies, new
technology is affecting the structure and performance of
the banking industry in the emerging markets mainly
through its impact on the costs and the determination of
optimal scale. Therefore, this study sought to investigate
whether these changes in banking industry caused by
social media have had a positive or negative impact. [12]
assert that one of the most pervasive societal activities
involves chatting about other people. [13] aver that social
media sites are also vulnerable to cyber-criminal
activities by disseminating wrong information which can
cause embarrassment to the organization concerned. [14]
indicate that the spread of false rumours during
emergencies can jeopardise the well-being of citizens as
they are monitoring the stream of news from social
media to stay abreast of the latest updates.
This study is in accordance to the arguments posited by
different researchers above to further test whether there is
any harm in commercial banks with regards to autonomy
of employees to freely express feelings and disseminate
information. [15] strongly believes that manipulation of
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