Social capital creation through frontline employees’ social media use and its effects on performance

Purpose This study aims to further understand the different mechanisms by which social media use by frontline employees (FLEs) affects customer service performance. Building on social capital theory, the authors develop a model which shows that FLEs' structural capital, in the form of their internal social media use with colleagues and their external use with customers, affects customer service performance via the development of cognitive capital (role and customer knowledge assimilation) and relational capital (organizational and customer identification). By researching the interplay between internal and external social capital, the authors overcome the limitations of studying both in isolation. Design/methodology/approach Dyadic data was collected from 388 FLEs and their supervisors in financial service firms. CB-SEM was used to test the proposed structural model, including interaction effects. Findings FLEs’ social media use with colleagues (customers) affects role (customer) knowledge assimilation, which leads to organizational (customer) identification. The interaction of the two types of social media use increases role and customer knowledge, while the interaction of role and customer knowledge boosts both types of identification. Internal and external cognitive and relational capitals independently increase customer service performance; however, when combined, they can limit each other’s effectiveness. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to the social media use literature by demonstrating the concurrent effect of four mediators (i.e. role knowledge assimilation, customer knowledge assimilation, organization identification and customer identification) on the relationship between FLEs’ social media use and performance. The authors also contribute to social capital theory by showing there is a complex interplay between internal and external structural, cognitive and relational capitals, which must be considered to understand social capital’s effect on FLEs’ performance. Also, the authors show that different social capitals can conflict. Practical implications FLEs should be encouraged to use social media to develop relationships with customers and colleagues, as this develops their tacit knowledge of customers and how to better undertake their role. This gives them the necessary capabilities for effective customer service and brings them closer to both their customers and to the organization, motivating FLEs to put their knowledge into practice. Originality/value The authors contribute to the social media use literature by demonstrating the concurrent effect of four mediators (i.e. role knowledge assimilation, customer knowledge assimilation, organization identification and customer identification) on the relationship between FLEs’ social media use and performance. The authors also contribute to social capital theory by showing there is a complex interplay between internal and external structural, cognitive and relational capitals, which must be considered to understand social capital’s effect on FLEs’ performance. Also, the authors show that different social capitals can conflict.