Definition
A social network is a web-based application, a system of open relationships and exponential growth. On a social network, a user invites other users to establish an online connection via the platform. In turn, each user also creates their own group of contacts to create a network of connections (Assimakopoulos et al. 2017; Cheung et al. 2011). In the educational arena, a social network can also be a tool to support management decisions.
Introduction
In recent years, universities have faced various changes and circumstances that have affected the formulation of strategies and operational management. Among such changes – varying in nature and geographical scope –are, for example, economic changes, changes in the regulation of the education system, or the internationalization of education (i.e., Daniel 2015; Uslu 2018). In this context of change, the digital context generates new challenges and opportunities that influence different areas of the university’s organization...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Al-Aufi AS, Fulton C (2014) Use of social networking tools for informal scholarly communication in humanities and social sciences disciplines. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 147:436–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.135
Al-Bahrani A, Patel D (2015) Incorporating Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook in economics classrooms. J Econ Educ 46(1):56–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2014.978922
Alexa EL, Alexa M, Stoica CM (2012) The use of online marketing and social media in higher education institutions in Romania. J Mark Res Case Stud. https://doi.org/10.5171/2012.721221
Arquero JL, Romero-Frías E (2013) Using social network sites in higher education: an experience in business studies. Innov Educ Teach Int 50(3):238–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2012.760772
Assimakopoulos C, Antoniadis I, Kayas OG, Dvizac D (2017) Effective social media marketing strategy: Facebook as an opportunity for universities. Int J Retail Distrib Manag 45(5):532–549. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-11-2016-0211
Bélanger CH, Bali S, Longden B (2014) How Canadian universities use social media to brand themselves. Tert Educ Manag 20(1):14–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2013.852237
Boyd DM, Ellison NB (2007) Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship. J Comput-Mediat Commun 13(1):210–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
Brown SA (2012) Seeing web 2.0 in context: a study of academic perceptions. Internet High Educ 15(1):50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.04.003
Cheung CM, Chiu PY, Lee MK (2011) Online social networks: why do students use facebook? Comput Hum Behav 27(4):1337–1343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.028
Collins G, Quan-Haase A (2014) Are social media ubiquitous in academic libraries? A longitudinal study of adoption and usage patterns. J Web Librariansh 8(1):48–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2014.873663
Daniel B (2015) Big data and analytics in higher education: opportunities and challenges. Br J Educ Technol 46(5):904–920. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12230
Demir M (2018) Developing a scale for using Facebook as a learning tool. Educ Technol Res Dev 66(6):1457–1477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-018-9616-8
Dumpit DZ, Fernandez CJ (2017) Analysis of the use of social media in higher education institutions (HEIs) using the technology acceptance model. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0045-2
Ellahi A, Bokhari RH (2013) Key quality factors affecting users’ perception of social networking websites. J Retail Consum Serv 20(1):120–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.10.013
Galan M, Lawley M, Clements M (2015) Social media’s use in postgraduate students’ decision-making journey: an exploratory study. J Mark High Educ 25(2):287–312. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2015.1083512
Hamid S, Bukhari S, Ravana SD, Norman AA, Ijab MT (2016) Role of social media in information-seeking behaviour of international students: a systematic literature review. Aslib J Inf Manag 68(5):643–666. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-03-2016-0031
Kane G, Alavi M, Labianca G, Borgatti S (2012) What’s different about social media networks? A framework and research agenda. MIS Q 38(1):275–304. https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2014/38.1.13
Koshkin AP, Rassolov IM, Novikov AV (2017) Monitoring social media: students satisfaction with university administration activities. Educ Inf Technol 22(5):2499–2522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-016-9558-x
Lambić D (2016) Correlation between Facebook use for educational purposes and academic performance of students. Comput Hum Behav 61:313–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.052
Le TD, Dobele AR, Robinson LJ (2019) Information sought by prospective students from social media electronic word-of-mouth during the university choice process. J High Educ Policy Manag 41(1):18–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2018.1538595
Martín-Marichal MC (2013) Las universidades y las bibliotecas universitarias españolas en las redes sociales. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315685135_Las_universidades_y_las_bibliotecas_universitarias_espanolas_en_las_redes_sociales_2017/download
Meishar-Tal H, Pieterse E (2017) Why do academics use academic social networking sites? Int Rev Res Open Dist Learn 18(1). https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v18i1.2643
Moreira F, Mesquita A, Peres P (2017) Customized X-learning environment: social networks & knowledge-sharing tools. Procedia Comput Sci 121:178–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.11.025
Muscanell N, Utz S (2017) Social networking for scientists: an analysis on how and why academics use ResearchGate. Online Inf Rev 41(5):744–759. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2016-0185
Peruta A, Shields AB (2018) Marketing your university on social media: a content analysis of Facebook post types and formats. J Mark High Educ 28(2):175–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2018.1442896
Phillips NK (2011) Academic library use of Facebook: building relationships with students. J Acad Librariansh 37(6):512–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2011.07.008
Rauniar R, Rawski G, Johnson B, Yang J (2013) Social media user satisfaction—theory development and research findings. J Internet Commer 12(2):195–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2013.817864
Roig-Vila R, Mondéjar L, Lledó GL (2015) Redes sociales científicas. La Web social al servicio de la investigación. Int J Educ Res Innov 5:170–183. https://www.upo.es/revistas/index.php/IJERI/article/view/1615
Sadowski C, Pediaditis M, Townsend R (2017) University students’ perceptions of social networking sites (SNSs) in their educational experiences at a regional Australian university. Australas J Educ Technol 33(5):77–90. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.2927
Sharma SK, Joshi A, Sharma H (2016) A multi-analytical approach to predict the Facebook usage in higher education. Comput Hum Behav 55:340–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.020
Sobaih AEE, Moustafa MA, Ghandforoush P, Khan M (2016) To use or not to use? Social media in higher education in developing countries. Comput Hum Behav 58:296–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.01.002
Tess PA (2013) The role of social media in higher education classes (real and virtual)–a literature review. Comput Hum Behav 29(5):A60–A68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.032
Uslu B (2018) Strategic actions and strategy changes in European universities: clues from institutional evaluation reports of the European University Association. Eur J High Educ 8(2):215–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2018.1432370
Voss KA, Kumar A (2013) The value of social media: are universities successfully engaging their audience? J Appl Res High Educ 5(2):156–172. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2012-0060
Vrontis D, El Nemar S, Ouwaida A, Shams SR (2018) The impact of social media on international student recruitment: the case of Lebanon. J Int Educ Bus 11(1):79–103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-05-2017-0020
Wu YCJ, Shen JP, Chang CL (2015) Electronic service quality of Facebook social commerce and collaborative learning. Comput Hum Behav 51:1395–1402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.10.001
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Melián-Alzola, L. (2020). Social Networks in Higher Education Management. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1_227
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1_227
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10575-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10576-1
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceReference Module Computer Science and Engineering