Mixed methods analysis of enterprise social networks

The increasing use of enterprise social networks (ESN) generates vast amounts of data, giving researchers and managerial decision makers unprecedented opportunities for analysis. However, more transparency about the available data dimensions and how these can be combined is needed to yield accurate insights into the multi-facetted phenomenon of ESN use. In order to address this issue, we first conducted a systematic literature review to identify available data dimensions and integrated them into a conceptual framework. We then adopted this framework as part of a mixed methods research approach to comprehensively analyze an empirical ESN case. With our results serving as a proof of concept we show the insights that can be derived from different data dimensions and how combining these can improve the validity of the analysis. The application of the framework also allows us to derive a detailed guideline for combining different data sources in ESN analysis to support researchers and decision makers. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.