A Process Perspective on the Evaluation of Enterprise Social Software

Many organizations use enterprise social software (ESS) to support, for example, communication, knowledge and innovation management. Companies are increasingly realizing benefits and competitive advantages from using ESS. However, as with any other type of information systems (IS), assessing this value on an organizational level is an extensive challenge. Several models have been proposed to measure IS success. Many of these models disregard that IS success is not a static concept, but rather a temporary status which varies depending on its stage in the IS lifecycle. However, considering different success definitions at certain times in the lifecycle is crucial to produce significant results. In addition, IS theories, such as models for success measurement, are not one-to-one transferrable to ESS. The peculiarities of ESS have to be taken into account when it comes to develop valid measurement instruments. Consequently, the development of an approach with which to evaluate ESS, considering different stages of the ESS lifecycle on the basis of well-founded evidence still lies in the future. With our research we want to bridge this gap. Theoretically founded on the process theory of Soh and Markus (1995) and data gained from two qualitative studies our results are able to explain ESS success depending on the time within the ESS lifecycle. This process perspective assumes that ESS investments lead to organizational performance through a chain of three processes: (1) Within the conversion process ESS expenditures are transformed into usable ESS assets. (2) The potential of assets to change work procedures is exploited in the ESS use process. (3) In the competitive process the ESS impacts that materialize during the ESS use process are exploited and, eventually, transformed into improved organizational performance. Our results can help to gain a deeper understanding of ESS success and its meaning in every phase of the ESS lifecycle. Indicators are identified with which to evaluate an ESS in a concrete organizational setting. Furthermore, measurement barriers are examined so that they can be considered in the planning. This study also has implications for future research since we were able to show how the process theory can be applied in an ESS context. The indicators identified in the study might serve as measures to quantitatively test its validity.