Community Management and its role in a Business Model. : A qualitative study on online community’s progress in the business world and how it is used
Saif, Safwan (2016)
Saif, Safwan
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2016
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016093014715
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2016093014715
Tiivistelmä
This paper is a qualitative study of Community Management and how it fits in the business model. With Community management becoming a buzzword and the rise in community management jobs it is certainly a modern development worth looking into. This study lays a background work of community management and its origins and continues to its recent development in the business world. To answer the question ‘what is the purpose of community management in a business’’ it conducts a qualitative study with open ended interviews with a mixture of random and convenient sampling. Through inductive reasoning data is analysed and conclusions drawn.
Community management is practiced or aspired to be practiced widely in the business world today. However proper understanding on the subject is lacking due to being a relatively new concept. Community management roles are given to unqualified individuals or added as a responsibility to an employee. Both of which is unwise. In the interviews it is seen that community managers are able to specifically define their role in the business and what community management brings to the company. On the other hand senior management perceives it to be a form of online marketing, causing a bottleneck in community management efforts. This paper addresses the gaps in the community management world and suggests that clear objective, qualified community managers and collective efforts are required to gain full benefit from community management.
Community management is practiced or aspired to be practiced widely in the business world today. However proper understanding on the subject is lacking due to being a relatively new concept. Community management roles are given to unqualified individuals or added as a responsibility to an employee. Both of which is unwise. In the interviews it is seen that community managers are able to specifically define their role in the business and what community management brings to the company. On the other hand senior management perceives it to be a form of online marketing, causing a bottleneck in community management efforts. This paper addresses the gaps in the community management world and suggests that clear objective, qualified community managers and collective efforts are required to gain full benefit from community management.