Interorganizational Network Portfolios and Social Media Adoption by Nonprofit Organizations

While a rich literature investigates how and why NPOs use social media, research on why they differ in their social media adoption (SMA) is limited. In this paper we examine how NPOs’ interorganizational partner portfolio characteristics can enable or constrain their adoption of social media, including blogs and videos, conventional social media (Facebook, Twitter…) and crowd-based platforms (crowdfunding and petitions). Based on a survey distributed to a sample of environmental NPOs in France, results indicate that NPOs having open networks, whose partners are physically distant, and that have more cross-sectoral partners have higher SMA. Network portfolio management can thus make up for a shortage of financial resources to invest in social media.