Abstract
The adoption of social networking sites as tools for organisation-stakeholder relational communication has changed the landscape of relationship building (Doerfel & Taylor, 2017). Consequently, Yang and Saffer (2019) assert that social media ushered in a network perspective as a new paradigm in strategic communication with implications for organisation-stakeholder relationships. The use of social networking sites to establish relationships heralds the need for effective relationship-building approaches and indicators to measure success (Hester, 2014). Over the past two decades, relationships were measured based on interpersonal communication constructs like satisfaction, trust, and commitment (Palmatier, Dant, Grewal & Evans, 2006). The rationale for this study is that contemporary research reveals that social networking sites lack dialogic elements because they are incompatible with offering intimate and private conversations. The major research question of the study is as follows.
How can dialogue occur on social networking sites to build communicative relationships between organisations and stakeholders?
The study uses a sequential, explanatory, mixed method research approach, (participant selection model) (Ivankova, Creswell & Stick, 2006). It involves a social network analysis that is applied to Vodacom using NodeXL software to uncover network characteristics, antecedents, moderators, and consequences of social networking sites. The qualitative aspects of the study were carried out through semi-structured interviews in which thematic analysis was applied to provide a detailed account of the research questions.
There are three broad conclusions that were determined in line with the research questions: 1) the study reveals a disparity between the three social networking sites, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram, as stakeholders tend to organise themselves around specific topics they share similar interests in, resulting in distinct network characteristics; 2) building relationships on social networking sites requires heightened application of relationship building principles; 3) dialogic communication should encompass dialogic principles and features to facilitate a smooth experience that enables meaningful connections.