Relationships between social media usage, social capital and job performance: the case of hotel employees in Iran

Abstract

In recent years, the hotel industry has increasingly adopted social media, which play key roles in advertising, marketing, and promotions within the hotel industry. However, there has been relatively little empirical research on the relationship between using social media and job performance in hotel employees. This study aimed to examine the relationships between social media usage, social capital, and job performance of hotel employees in Iran. In order to achieve the aim of the research, data were collected from 270 employees of Espinas Hotel in Iran by a simple random sampling method. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the results showed that social media usage by hotel employees has a positive effect on the formation of structural, relational, and cognitive social capital. Moreover, structural, relational, and cognitive social capital formed as a result of using social media has a positive effect on job performance. This study advanced the previous knowledge of social capital theory for employees interacting with coworkers through social media in organizations.