Britain lags behind Europe in Enterprise 2.0
A report out this week from AT&T explores the adoption of social networking in the workplace and the rise of Enterprise 2.0. Based on 2,500 interviews in five countries (Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany) the report looks at what use is made of which tools and how this helps (or otherwise in the workplace).
The headline findings are interesting on their own and suggest a growing acceptance and usefulness of social networks and social media in the enterprise. Almost two-thirds of those responding (65%) said that social networks had increased either their efficiency at work, or the efficiency of their colleagues. But perhaps a greater sign of the power that social networks can bring to the workplace is the 63% of respondents who said that using them had enabled them to do something that they hadn’t been able to do before.
This starts to show the real power of social media – it’s not just about letting people do old things in new ways, but about facilitating completely new ways of connecting, sharing, and indeed of working.
What is most interesting, however, is to explore this data a little bit deeper, and indeed to look at the data on a country-by-country basis. Taking only the adoption of social networks as part of “everyday life at work in Europe”, the figures reveal something surprising – Great Britain lags behind the other countries in the study:
- Germany – 72% of respondents report adoption of social networks in the workplace
- Netherlands – 67%
- Belgium – 65%
- France – 62%
- Great Britain – 59%
This positioning is surprising, not least as adoption of social networks like Facebook is higher in Great Britain than elsewhere in Europe. That rate of adoption of Enterprise 2.0 may reflect more on British working styles and habits, or indeed on the mix of industries that predominate in that country. But whatever the reasoning it would be good to see higher adoption in the UK, if only because, as this survey shows, those organisations that adopt Enterprise 2.0 can be more efficient and can let you do things you have never done before. In the current economic climate, organisations could benefit from both of these.
Some more reading
- Facebook Conquers Europe With Triple-Digit Growth (mashable.com)
- Useful Differentiation – Enterprise Social Computing vs. Everyday Use of Social Networks (fastforwardblog.com)
- Active Facebook Users By Country (radar.oreilly.com)
Jon Worth:
I am completely astounded by this – 65% in Belgium!?! I split my time between Brussels and London and it strikes me that social networking in enterprises and also among individuals is much more developed in the UK. OK, I only speak on the basis of anecdotes and experiences, not stats, but I’m still very surprised.
21 April 2009, 9:19 amMatt Rhodes:
Hi Jon,
I’m also surprised by this, which is why I wrote about it – I spend a fair amount of my time in Paris and also find that the level of social networking there is different in quality to the UK. They seem to have much more of a blogging culture whereas the UK has much more of a social networking one. It would be great to see the data behind this report
Matt
21 April 2009, 9:23 amBarthox:
As a Belgian with an interest in E2.0, I’m quite surprised as well!
I would tend to believe that the respondents, not knowing that S.N. can be used within the firewall, did not understand the question … ;o)
Will have a deeper look at the results in the report …
21 April 2009, 10:27 amAutom:
Wonder if there is an exsiting issue surrounding the need to enhance/expand IT infrastructures among enterprises in the UK. A recent experience made me wonder if there is a correlation between the need to dramatically increase bandwidth capacity and the rate of E2.0 adoption. Thoughts?
21 April 2009, 4:32 pmTom Vanlerberghe:
What struck me was at page 19. Brits don’t see the any benefit into the whole enterprise 2.0 thing. Compared to the other 4 countries, those are hard numbers. Combined with the lack of numbers in the creativity, knowledge and innovation part, it looks like the UK uses social media a lot, but just doesn’t care (businesswise). It could mean that in the UK it’s still in the personal space of a person instead of in the work environment.
From experience I can imagine that, if you also look at that number (p. 2 and p. 66), if distraction is such an issue that an anglosaxon country will shut off externel networksites like facebook or twitter from the company computer. If so, the UK starts with a handicap compared to the others. But that’s just speculation and based upon personal experience ofcourse.
On the other hand, what I believe most, is if all recipients got a proper explanation (or the reseachers) what they thought 2.0 really meant. I think there’s a big difference between the opinion of a 20yr old and a 50yr old.
What startles me about the result in Belgium is the seemingly contradiction on page 43. In the first few pages we clearly see a open mind-set about 2.0 being all it can be, and when it there, 60% responds negative or doubtfull on the question if it sparked creativity against 51% from France… Same goes with the results on page 48.
It’s a weird study…
21 April 2009, 9:41 pmNiall Cook:
As other comments allude to, I think the result has more to do with the difference in perceived meaning of Enterprise 2.0 within those markets than differences in adoption level. Research like this is useless unless the researchers can ensure that everybody interviewed has exactly the same interpretation of the questions being asked.
22 April 2009, 8:07 amBarthox:
Also, when you see what they included in the term ‘Social Network’ … it’s pretty vast!
And besides, I don’t believe that it is representative to have the same number of respondents in each country!?! I mean there are large differences in the populations, so the sample should be in relation to it!
22 April 2009, 8:49 amMatt Rhodes:
The researcher inside of me always wants to know more about the questionnaire and sampling method of any piece of research. And I’m usually sceptical about any findings if these things aren’t clear. The results of this survey surprised me, and so I’m even more keen to understand what was used to get them.
26 April 2009, 10:33 am