Facebook medical support groups: the communication privacy management perspective

Purpose

Exploring the considerations that guide and influence members of Facebook medical support groups to disclose private information.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample included 293 participants, aged 18–85 years, who answered an online survey, 155 members of Facebook medical support groups and 138 members of other Facebook groups.

Findings

Members of medical support groups attach greater importance to privacy policy, give greater value to privacy and reveal more private information, compared to members of other groups. Members of medical support groups tend to feel that they receive more support and feel that the privacy policy preserves their privacy much more. These feelings are associated with greater self-disclosure of groups' members.

Originality/value

The research insights will help medical support groups' members and admins to put into action the fundamental right to privacy and build a set of rules tailored to their individual and group needs.

Key motivations for leading Facebook communities: a uses and gratifications approach

Purpose

Facebook community leaders, often nonprofessionals who make a personal decision to create and manage online spaces, are becoming key players on social media sites. Using the theoretical framework of the uses and gratifications theory, this paper reveals the motivations of these individuals who are responsible for the community's information flow, limits and members' well-being. While some studies have begun acknowledging community leaders' important role in the social media, very little is known about their motivations for creating and leading the communities, often voluntarily.

Design/methodology/approach

Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses, data were collected through a survey of 94 Facebook community leaders about their motivations for creating and leading their communities.

Findings

The content analysis of the open-ended question reveals that leaders are motivated to create communities to satisfy informational needs, social needs and individual interests. A factor analysis shows five distinct motivations for leading: social, personal, influence, efficacy and community goals. Finally, a hierarchical regression indicates that extroversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, time spent per day and being the creator of the community can predict the level of motivation to lead the Facebook community.

Originality/value

As more and more organizations use online communities, the findings of this study may provide insights into leaders' motivations that can help organizations select their community leaders. This study expands on current research about a popular communication tool, Facebook communities, by examining it within the context of the unique role of online leadership in the social media environment.

An exploration of the leadership strategies of Facebook community leaders

Purpose

Understanding leadership in newly created online social spaces, such Facebook communities, is an important new area of study within leadership research. This study explores an existing leadership model in offline environments by analyzing leadership strategies used by Facebook community leaders.

Design/methodology/approach

By using both quantitative and qualitative methods, data were collected through a survey from 94 Facebook community leaders about their leadership strategies.

Findings

Findings show that the framework of leadership behavior in offline groups can also be observed in Facebook communities. The content analysis of the open-ended questions reveals new categories reflecting unique leadership strategies in online environments. Leaders that participated in the study focused on strategies of content and team management, provided their groups with relevant content and personal stories to engage their members and strived to lead both offline and online-related social spaces to build a sense of community.

Originality/value

The growing number of Facebook community leaders and their key role in social media communities raise new questions about their position in light of what is already known about traditional leadership. Since social media occupies a central place in almost every aspect in everyday life, understanding the way that leaders manage these online communities is ever more important, and it can lead to an advancement in online communications.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-01-2020-0034.