Barriers to Social Media Adoption by Private Hospitals
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Abstract
Background
Social media is developing into an essential form of communication, particularly in the personal sphere with some 96% of New Zealanders engaged in some form of social media. In recent years many sectors of the commercial environment have adopted social media for communication, marketing and recruitment but little is known of social media use by private surgical hospitals in New Zealand despite these organisations being quick to embrace new medical technology.
Objective
The aim for this study was to determine whether New Zealand's private surgical hospitals had adopted social media and, if not, to identify the barriers that prevented them from doing so. The research serves as groundwork for a future programme of research.
Method
A purposive sample of eight managers working in small to large private hospitals throughout New Zealand participated in the semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews in 2012. Interviews were recorded (with permission), transcribed and then analysed by key themes. Rogers (2003) Diffusion of Technology Theory framed the study.
Results
The majority of the private surgical hospitals had not adopted social media applications beyond some use of LinkedIn and the interviewees had limited knowledge of the benefits or risks of using other social media applications. Most of the interviewees had avoided any participation in social media at a personal level and believed that such technology was irrelevant for their industry group. They viewed their staff as innovative in adopting new clinical procedures, equipment and knowledge but noted they were late adopters of communication and marketing technology. All participants expressed concern with the “lack of control†and immediacy of social media sites and the problem of who would take responsibility for monitoring. They considered that aggressively advertising their hospitals’ services was inappropriate but with the increasingly competitive environment some were beginning to seek ways of capturing a greater market share. A significant factor which may contribute to the negative attitudes towards social media was the age of the managers, the majority of whom belonged to the ‘baby boomer’ generation.
Conclusions
This study has shown that traditional conservative attitudes prevail in the private hospital sector as regards social media adoption. The benefits of increased client engagement and use of the media for marketing and improving internal communication are currently being ignored. The slow diffusion of social media in this health sector may be a reflection of New Zealand’s lag behind the world in the use of this technology (NBR, 2011) and the older age of the managers. This preliminary study focused on private surgical hospitals, and further studies on other industry sectors would be useful in determining whether there are similar or different factors contributing to social media uptake throughout New Zealand organisations.
References
NBR, The National Business Review (2011). NZ business lagging with social media. Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Access http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-businesses-lag-behind-social-media-according-report-aw-104785
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press.
Social media is developing into an essential form of communication, particularly in the personal sphere with some 96% of New Zealanders engaged in some form of social media. In recent years many sectors of the commercial environment have adopted social media for communication, marketing and recruitment but little is known of social media use by private surgical hospitals in New Zealand despite these organisations being quick to embrace new medical technology.
Objective
The aim for this study was to determine whether New Zealand's private surgical hospitals had adopted social media and, if not, to identify the barriers that prevented them from doing so. The research serves as groundwork for a future programme of research.
Method
A purposive sample of eight managers working in small to large private hospitals throughout New Zealand participated in the semi-structured in-depth telephone interviews in 2012. Interviews were recorded (with permission), transcribed and then analysed by key themes. Rogers (2003) Diffusion of Technology Theory framed the study.
Results
The majority of the private surgical hospitals had not adopted social media applications beyond some use of LinkedIn and the interviewees had limited knowledge of the benefits or risks of using other social media applications. Most of the interviewees had avoided any participation in social media at a personal level and believed that such technology was irrelevant for their industry group. They viewed their staff as innovative in adopting new clinical procedures, equipment and knowledge but noted they were late adopters of communication and marketing technology. All participants expressed concern with the “lack of control†and immediacy of social media sites and the problem of who would take responsibility for monitoring. They considered that aggressively advertising their hospitals’ services was inappropriate but with the increasingly competitive environment some were beginning to seek ways of capturing a greater market share. A significant factor which may contribute to the negative attitudes towards social media was the age of the managers, the majority of whom belonged to the ‘baby boomer’ generation.
Conclusions
This study has shown that traditional conservative attitudes prevail in the private hospital sector as regards social media adoption. The benefits of increased client engagement and use of the media for marketing and improving internal communication are currently being ignored. The slow diffusion of social media in this health sector may be a reflection of New Zealand’s lag behind the world in the use of this technology (NBR, 2011) and the older age of the managers. This preliminary study focused on private surgical hospitals, and further studies on other industry sectors would be useful in determining whether there are similar or different factors contributing to social media uptake throughout New Zealand organisations.
References
NBR, The National Business Review (2011). NZ business lagging with social media. Tuesday, November 22, 2011. Access http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-businesses-lag-behind-social-media-according-report-aw-104785
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press.
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