We recently commented on the frequently negative impact of corporate culture on the use of Social Media in business. Recent research reveals another dysfunctional aspect of corporate activity: mis-alignment between business executives’ understanding of the importance of Social Media and the priority Social Media is being given within their organizations.
As reported in eMarketer, a recent study from Jive Software and Penn, Schoen & Berland found that 36% of executives believe that Social Media is very important to the future success of their businesses.
However, only 27% felt that Social Media is a strategic priority.
Interestingly, when looked at by size of organization, the medium sized group seemed to have the best alignment, with 51% of executives seeing the issue as very important and 49% giving it strategic priority.
It is hard to picture how this type of mis-alignment would serve any corporate goals.