Social Media Skills Essential for Next Gen CEOs

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Social Media Skills;
Essential or not for the next generation CEO?
By: Trent Larson
August, 2015
MBA in International Management Dissertation
Royal Holloway School of Management
University of London

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Abstract
The internet has fundamentally changed how people communicate, largely due to the social
media services it enables. In its early stages, social media was primarily used as a tool for
personal communication although it has since found its way into the business world. While this
is a relatively recent development, the role of social media as a professional tool is rapidly
evolving and hard data to measure its effectiveness on corporate success is scarce. The objective
of this research is to determine if social media skills are essential for the next generation CEO.
A mixed method analysis approach was implemented to allow quantitative and qualitative
analysis of primary and secondary data.
This research began by examining previous studies that quantify the current use of social media
among CEOs, as well as the perceived benefits and risks of using social media for business. The
study then incorporated in-depth interviews with current and future CEOs to obtain their views
on the role of social media within the enterprise and if social media skills will be required of the
next generation leaders. The research considered factors such as industry sector and company
size. The interviews also provided insight on how highly proficient CEOs use social media in
their organization. Based on analysis of the combined data, the results provided key insights and
recommendations which thereby achieved the objective set forth in this research. These findings
revealed implications on the wider body of management theory as well as highlighted limitations
and areas for further research.

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Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank a number of people who have made this study possible. First of
all to the interview participants who so generously gave of their time and were flexible to work
the interviews into their schedules. Their contributions brought this research to life, providing
candid views of successful executives.
Secondly, to fellow students and business colleagues alike who have provided an endless source
of ideas and inspiration for the text that appears in this paper as well as those have so generously
reviewed and proof read the paper providing their feedback.
Additionally, to Dr. Heather Douglas for her insights and suggestions. Her considerable
experience in research and business infused purpose and relevance into this paper.
Finally, to Dr. Isabella Chaney of Royal Holloway, University of London who not only
supervised the research but also provided valuable guidance and inspiration from beginning to
end. Without her support, this research would have not been possible.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgement .....................................................................................................................iii
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................iv
List of Figures.............................................................................................................................5
List of Tables..............................................................................................................................6
Chapter 1: Introduction ...............................................................................................................7
Chapter 2: Literature Review ....................................................................................................12
Current Status.................................................................................................................13
Benefits..........................................................................................................................16
Risks ..............................................................................................................................20
Chapter 3: Methodology ...........................................................................................................25
Secondary data...............................................................................................................25
Primary Data..................................................................................................................26
Setting............................................................................................................................28
Materials ........................................................................................................................29
Procedure.......................................................................................................................30
Evaluation......................................................................................................................30
Chapter 4: Results and Discussion ............................................................................................32
Chapter 5: Summary and Areas for Further Research................................................................48
The Wider Impact on Professional Practice ....................................................................49
Strengths of the Research ...............................................................................................50
Limitations.....................................................................................................................50
Areas for Further Research.............................................................................................51

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References:...............................................................................................................................53
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................57
Appendix A. Interview Questionnaire .......................................................................................58
Appendix B. Interview Participants...........................................................................................59

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List of Figures
Figure 1: Number of Fake Followers on Twitter Among Fortune 500 CEOs (Domo, 2013a) ....14
Figure 2: Participants' Company Size........................................................................................33
Figure 3: Social Media Use.......................................................................................................34
Figure 4: Proficiency Ranking ..................................................................................................35
Figure 5: Professional Platforms ...............................................................................................37
Figure 6: Social Media Benefits ................................................................................................38
Figure 7: Social Media Risks ....................................................................................................41
Figure 8: Replacement Requires Social Media Presence?..........................................................43
Figure 9: Other Executives Use Social Media ...........................................................................44
Figure 10: Is Social Media an Essential Skill?...........................................................................46

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List of Tables
Table 1: Participant Profiles……………………………………………………………………28
Table 2: Interview Participants………………………………………..………………….……59

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Chapter 1: Introduction
The arrival of the internet marked the beginning of one of the greatest communication
transformations in human history. It has enabled information to travel instantly around the
globe, connecting users in their homes and at work. As the internet grew in popularity, it
attracted more and more users and became a virtual meeting place for people to gather. To
facilitate these gatherings, social media sites began to appear where users could post information
or interact in real time. Just like in the physical world, people wanted to share information,
images and discuss current events. More traditional means of communication such as postal
mail, newspapers and telephone conversations began to give way to electronic media and
communication. With social media, every user could become a publisher or a broadcaster;
everyone could become visible to a global audience in ways never before possible. As such, the
demand for social media grew. In an effort to keep up with the explosive growth of users, new
social media services seem to pop up daily.
The first chapter of this paper has been designed to introduce the objective of the research as
well as establish the foundation for the subsequent chapters including the literature review,
methodology, results and conclusions. To begin with however, it is important to define the term
‘social media.’
What is social media? A commonly accepted definition of social media is “a collective term for
the different platforms and applications that allow user-generated content to be created and
shared electronically” (WMA, 2011: 217). The Oxford Dictionary defines social media as
“websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social
networking” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015). Regardless of the definition, social media for most

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users is a means to share information or digital content with friends and family through the
medium of a computer or smart device. Others will use social media to communicate for
professional purposes. Of the many social media sites on the web today, this research is centred
on those that are perceived most popular for business use. While it is anticipated that new social
media services will continue to emerge, it is likely that future studies may include services not
considered in this paper. Recognising also that although services such as Instagram, Snapchat
and Pintrest attract many users, they are not popular for use in a business context, as evidenced
by the experience of the author and subsequently verified by this research, and therefore not the
focal point of this research.
Social media has been around for little more than a decade, with its highest growth occurring in
the more recent years (History Cooperative, 2015), thus research on social media use is
increasing, yet still limited. For example, from a business perspective, there is relatively little
information, other than anecdotal accounts, to measure the impact of social media on a
company’s profitability. Only as the body of research increases will the true value of social
media in the professional world become known and quantified. As such, the core of this study
was informed by existing research that measures the number of Chief Executives using social
media in large Fortune 500 companies (Weber Shandwick, 2014) as well as by evaluating
primary data from smaller organizations whose global brands were not as recognised. This
paper also dug deeper than previous work by Domo (2013b) to determine if social media skills
are not only a desirable attribute but to determine if they are considered essential for the next
generation of CEOs in much the same way that strong leadership and communication skills are
required today.

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To provide an understanding of previous research in this area, the literature review undertaken
looked at research from the past decade with a focus on studies conducted in the most recent few
years. More than anything, the literature review identified the relatively small amount of
research currently available on the adoption of social media by CEOs. Yet in order to determine
if social media skills will be essential for future CEOs, it was important to establish a baseline
current state of social media usage by CEOs today. For this, the literature review included prior
work containing metrics on current use by Fortune 500 CEOs. Additional material was studied
to understand why some CEOs use social media and others do not further revealing the
perceived benefits as well as risks to the company.
The methodology section describes the mixed methods research employed to analyse not only
qualitative data but also quantitative data acquired from primary and secondary sources. Given
the relatively brisk pace of change inherent with technology-based trends such as social media, it
was deemed necessary to capture as much qualitative data as possible to provide insight into how
executives viewed the future of social media use by their successors. Along with the research
procedures, the methodology section provides further information on interview participants from
which the primary data was gathered. Attention was given to the context in which the
participants responded as well as their current role in their organisation.
Capturing data from the research, the results and discussion section presents the facts in both text
and graphical form. From the data, trends were identified indicating the popular views among
current and future CEOs on how social media skills will be used by their successors. These
findings were synthesised to offer insights into what the data is saying. More importantly, here
the views and information from the past and present were analysed to determine if social media

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skills are essential for the next generation CEO. This section also captured the current use of
social media and the benefits and risks perceived by the participants. In many cases, original
quotes and insights offered by the participants have been used to add context to the data and are
further analysed. Also in this section, the implications of this research are discussed in relation
to previous research. As well, limitations of this research have been presented for consideration.
The results and discussion section combines qualitative and quantitative data, presenting a
balanced approach to interpreting the primary and secondary data. As social media is based on 2
ever-changing variables; technology and social trends, the future of social media is postulated,
acknowledging that what may be predicted today, may bear little resemblance to reality
tomorrow.
Arriving at the conclusion section, the results and discussion are summarised in support of the
data determining if social media skills will be essential for the next generation CEO. As well,
recommendations based on the main points discussed earlier are provided. Equally important,
this chapter assesses how the study met the stated objectives of this research as well as answered
the fundamental research question if social media skills are essential for the next generation
CEO. Recognising the need for further research into social media as a business tool, suggestions
for further studies are presented.
As company performance often depends upon CEO effectiveness, determining the key skills
required by future CEOs will contribute to management theory. In particular, understanding if
social media presents a new opportunity or a new risk or both to corporations will enable leaders
to prepare themselves for the journey that lies ahead. Is there a need for social media to be
taught in prominent business schools along with leadership, strategy and finance or is it viewed

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as purely a means for sharing personal information and self-promotion? To help determine this,
the next chapter provides a literature review of past research.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
As indicated in the previous chapter, a gradually increasing volume of research can be found
extoling the virtues of social media to stay connected and informed. In little more than a decade,
social media has gone from the domain of niche users to a mainstream form of communication
where text, audio and video converge. While the younger generation has grown up on social
media, long time industry veterans have survived for decades without an online presence. Key
contributors to the research on social CEOs include Domo (2013a) and Weber Shandwick
(2014). Their work mainly focusses on large Fortune 500 companies and provides metrics on
the number of CEOs engaged in social media, as well as on what platforms they are most active.
This is covered in greater detail later in this chapter. Other research available today provides
anecdotal accounts of the benefits of social media for current CEOs, but lacks a reliable means
of measuring the impact to the bottom line (Biro, 2014; Jameson, 2014; Perry, 2013). These
benefits are also countered by research warning of the risks to CEOs and their companies who
are active on social media (Leavitt, 2014; Tobak, 2014).
In some respects, social media follows many conventions of traditional interaction skills. As
users develop their online reputation, impression management is important. Knowing what to
post online, where and when has become a science of its own. One study shows that Twitter
creates more positive emotion for the audience than Facebook and that Twitter followers seek
more information based communication than status updates (Lin & Qiu, 2013). Another
indicates that social media platforms tend to be an online venue among professionals where they
only share information which is likely to bring the greatest gain in terms of social capital or
professional reputation, with the least cost to the individual (Papacharissi, 2010).

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Based on available research this chapter will now examine the current adoption of social media
usage by CEOs, the perceived benefits and finally the risks presented not only to CEOs, but to
their companies.
Current Status
In a 2013 study, about 68% of Fortune 500 CEOs are reported to have no presence on major
social media networks such as Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Of the remaining
32% who use these networks, Linkedin has the highest participation among Fortune 500 CEOs
at just 27.9% followed by Facebook at 7%, Twitter at 3.9% and Google+ at 1% (Domo, 2013a).
In this virtual world, a social media user’s credibility is greatly linked to the number of
followers, friends or connections they display online. As with any unregulated activity, the
numbers presented are subject to misrepresentation. Of the Twitter accounts among Fortune 500
CEOs, less than half (44%) are verified, meaning they are authentic and operated by the person
they purport to represent. Further clouding the issue of authenticity is the number of fake
followers or connections a CEO may have, which artificially inflates his or her perceived
popularity. Among the Fortune 500 CEOs on Twitter, the average number of fake followers is
13%. Among CEOs with the most fake followers are Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg (30%),
investor Warren Buffet (22%) and Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer (18%) (Domo, 2013a). If fewer than
4% of Fortune 500 CEOs are using Twitter, and an average of 13% of their followers are fake,
how many people are truly benefitting from the material posted by CEOs?

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Figure 1: Number of Fake Followers on Twitter Among Fortune 500 CEOs (Domo, 2013a)
The exact reasons for relatively low participation on social media by Fortune 500 CEOs are
unknown but Domo offers some suggestions being: not enough time, uncomfortable with the
transparency, increased risk and resistance to change (Domo, 2013a). What then, is the
advantage social CEOs see over more traditional means of communication? For those not on
social media, perhaps the risk of transparency is too great for these large companies causing their
leaders to shy away from an otherwise unprecedented ability to engage with stakeholders.
Perhaps the return on their investment of time has not been sufficient to warrant diverting
attention away from inwardly focused activities of running the company. Or perhaps some
simply have no interest in any advantages that could be offered by social media.
If Fortune 500 companies are anything to go by, social media skills are not deemed essential to
lead large multinational companies, or are they? According to Coin & Babbitt (2014) a strong
social presence is high on the list of factors many board members and CEOs consider when
identifying the next CEO candidates. Their research further suggests that with the positive
aspects of being a social CEO that social media skills will be on almost every board’s list of
must-have leadership skills (Coin & Babbitt, 2014). This is further supported by Peter Aceto,
CEO of Tangerine, who indicates that social media skills have only been considered by boards in

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the last 5 years. He believes that in the not too distant future a social media presence will be
among the board’s top 5 aptitudes when vetting CEO candidates (Coiné, 2014). While there
may be an increasing trend for boards to seek leaders who are social media savvy with genuine
credibility and a strong following, it is also important that CEOs not only post, but also listen to
the community so as to be well informed on a wide range of issues both local and global that
may impact the company (Marcus, 2014). Also when seeking board members, executives or top
talent, there may be a risk that the search criteria is based disproportionately on the person’s
social media presence rather than their actual skills and experience related to performing in the
role.
Leaders increasingly need to consider social media as part of a well-defined, larger
communications strategy that meets the company’s needs. Therefore, it is important that CEOs
know how and when social media should be used for communicating in organisations as well as
the implications of transparency and openness created by social media (Meredith, 2012). If,
however, CEOs are not transparent and open when communicating with social media, does it not
then make sense to remain with traditional media formats such as press releases, TV and
magazines to build the corporate reputation where the content is filtered and vetted by various
layers of legal and marketing teams? To be effective with social media, according to Argenti &
Barnes (2009) executives will be required to understand how to harness the power of digital
communication tools and integrate them into business strategy, leveraging them across every
function. CEOs will become as much a media figure as they are a strategist and leader.

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As the current body of research indicates, social media uptake by CEOs is relatively low. Why
do the few that use it do so? The next section will examine some of the benefits afforded to
CEOs who are able to effectively harness social media.
Benefits
Although current numbers of CEOs active on social media are relatively low, researchers have
suggested numerous benefits await those who do. Platforms such as Twitter enable CEOs to
communicate both professional and personal information addressing current company related
issues as well as show their personal side. This has been used effectively by CEOs to express
loyalty to local sports teams or local organisations, thus endearing them to the community
(Jameson, 2014). Social media can also have the effect of reducing the distance between a CEO
and his or her audience. As a form of self-disclosure and self-deprecation, this can humanise a
leader and have a powerful impact (Jameson, 2014). To elevate their identity performance the
use of the ‘mention’ feature in Twitter (a user name prefaced by the @ symbol) embedded in the
message can be used effectively. Followers will often draw conclusions based on the social
status of those mentioned in the content (Papacharissi, 2010). Likewise, the use of the ‘hashtag’
feature (a word prefaced by the # symbol) will include the posting of this user anytime someone
searches for that word. Again, more appearances in search results elevate their identity
performance.
While investment in social media does not offer a guaranteed return and often risks exposing the
CEO to criticism, according to Meghan Biro (2014) the real benefits can be in increasing the
target audience’s attention, intention and retention. Attention in this context is creating

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awareness of the brand leveraging the leadership style of the CEO. As consumer purchasing
decisions are increasingly based on the buyer’s interaction with brands, this has the effect of
increasing their intentions to buy. A social CEO can also increase employee retention, as well as
improve recruiting efforts by projecting values that attract talent (Biro, 2014).
The astute social CEO can use social media to tune into global conversations to support vital
decision making. With relative ease, they can leverage global networks to gain insights from
influential people with whom they would otherwise never communicated. CEOs can thereby
transcend the ‘old boys’ network’ where fresh thinking is discouraged to tap into new ideas
anywhere in the world. This form of communication can also enable CEOs to deepen the
dialogue with stakeholders by enriching otherwise business focused comments with a human
dimension giving greater access to the leader’s reasoning and thinking (Thomas & Silverstone,
2015). Caution must be exercised as new information can change the course of thinking on an
issue. By publicly exposing a leader’s thinking, they may be subjected to public criticism if they
pivot. CEOs will need to be careful how much transparency they provide and balance it with the
need to assimilate new information into the decision making process without being constrained
by the desire to maintain their public image and reputation.
Other members of the ‘C’ suite and senior executives also weigh in on the merits of their CEO
maintaining a social media presence. In a 2013 study, 76% of global executives interviewed
indicate they want their CEO to engage in social media. Their reasons range from having a
positive impact on the company reputation and business results, to making them feel inspired and
part of a technologically advanced company (Perry, 2013). They view participation in social
media as not just dissemination of information but also as following trends, staying current with

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markets and gathering critical business insights from which to make decisions. As supported by
the Resource Based View of competitive theory, the superior utilisation of internal resources
such as social media can create a competitive advantage and organisations able to harness this
tool better than others will enjoy the benefits (Faulkner, 2011).
Not all social media platforms are equal however. When it comes to business, CEOs must select
those that are most relevant to reach their target audience. While Facebook and Snapchat may be
relevant among pop-culture, they may not be the platform of choice in a business context (Perry,
2013). Research also suggests current bosses of an older generation often have an outdated view
of social media as a platform to post family photos or discuss non-business issues (Barton,
2014). Whether for personal or professional use, one of social media’s greatest benefits is to
allow CEOs to promote themselves and their company values to clients and employees to create
a more personal relationship (Barton, 2014).
In another study, 81% of respondents believe that CEOs who use social media make better
leaders (Weber Shandwick, 2014). Changes in how the world does business has made it now
more important than ever for CEOs to get into social media for the sake of their brand and for
their company’s bottom line (Halligan, 2014). For new CEOs, being on social media from day
one is a great way to introduce themselves and their values, as well as set the tone for their
leadership and accessibility. This may offer the quickest and most effective way for new leaders
to reach out and engage stakeholders (Weber Shandwick, 2014).
As a way for stakeholders to get to know a CEO, research indicates that linguistic cues found in
microblogs such as Twitter, are highly correlated with personality traits. This suggests that one’s

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personality can be revealed with alarming accuracy to complete strangers through social media.
The same study indicates that the degree of openness of a user is negatively correlated to the
increased use of adverbs, affect words and swear words (Qiu, Lin, Ramsay & Yang, 2012).
Therefore, in the absence of face-to-face interaction, it is possible that stakeholders can gain a
reasonable measure of the CEO’s composition by following him or her on social media. In
addition, public interaction with other users, both about professional events and social interaction
with other practitioners in their industry contributes to building an identity as a dedicated and
expert professional (Papacharissi, 2010). Maintaining an active presence on social media not
only will build up the CEO’s position as an expert, but also will open up new communication
channels in times of crisis. The leaders who use social media primarily for self-promotion
however, may appear less credible as an expert as followers will see through their ulterior
motives. Perhaps then, the real benefit of social media is that it offers a new currency where
trustworthiness, reputation, openness and accessibility of CEOs translate into shareholder value
(Lekushoff, 2014). When examined through the lens of Porter’s 5 forces, social media and the
open access to corporate information provided by the CEO’s social media activity may have an
impact on creating entry barriers for competitors. By creating increased customer loyalty
combined with the social currency of the CEO, companies may enjoy a competitive advantage
(Porter, 1980a).
In the end, will all companies benefit the same with a social media presence? Will the owner of
a local bakery and the chief executive of a high tech gaming company benefit equally from
posting company related information to a large follower base? One study suggests they are not
equal and the more a profession relies on social media, the greater the likelihood that its

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members will use and depend on social media as standard communication tools (Papacharissi,
2010).
Therefore according to current research, the benefits for a CEO using social media are primarily
in the enhanced communication it affords and the ability to craft a positive perception of the
company, its reputation and its leaders. Although many companies stand to benefit from social
media, is it all positive? The next section will examine research on the risks of using social
media.
Risks
While the benefits can be enticing, the risks of social media to CEOs cannot be ignored. Are the
risks worth it? To date, the benefits of social media for business are anecdotal, absent of any
hard metrics to support real contribution to the bottom-line. Business leaders are focused on
setting strategy, making decisions and applying limited resources where the likelihood of return
is greatest. Traditional CEOs are accustomed to meeting their clients face-to-face whether on
the golf course or in the board room. Often times, customers for the big deals do not spend their
time on Facebook or other social media platforms so why should CEOs (Tobak, 2014)? As with
owning a facsimile machine in the 1980s, this tool may have great potential, but until the number
of target stakeholders embracing it reaches critical mass, conventional means of accessing
stakeholders will continue.
Unlike the fax machine however, CEOs using social media can risk damage to their reputation if
used improperly. Use of terms such as LOL, OMG or BFF which may be considered

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appropriate for certain audiences, may not be well received by company shareholders. Likewise,
photos of the CEO indulging in excess such as racing their Maserati can have an equally
negative affect with wage-earners (Hirsch, 2014). When using a communication tool that has
the ability to reach large numbers of unknown followers, it becomes increasingly important to
understand cultural differences. It may be more acceptable for CEOs to be posting about their
successes in North America than in more reserved cultures such as Japan (Barton, 2014). What
might be endearing to one culture may be repulsive to another and CEOs should consider the
various stakeholders who may read their posts before pressing the send button. When used
effectively, where Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions are dominant, social media may bridge the
power-distance gap between executives and workers as well it may be used to greater effect in
individual-collective cultures where collective efforts are preferred to individual efforts
(Hofstede, 1980).
Along with posting relevant, appropriate material, the public professional identities of social
media users also gain credibility by the number of followers or connections they display
(Papacharissi, 2010). As discussed previously, the increasing number of fake followers that
many users have, raises the issue of quality versus quantity. According to Josh James, CEO of
Domo, Inc., this can take a significant amount of time and effort to develop a large follower base
so CEOs should concentrate on quality over quantity (Domo, 2013b). Therefore, the effort
CEOs make to post quality content may be negated by being viewed as an executive with legions
of fake followers.
In addition to quality content, research indicates it is imperative that leaders establish a suitable
frequency with which they communicate. This is largely determined by their chosen medium.

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An executive’s personality cannot reliably be established with one tweet per month, however,
that is an acceptable interval for other social platforms such as Linkedin (Hirsch, 2014). On the
other extreme, CEOs run the risk of being too active on social media with uninteresting content.
In such cases, followers are likely to drop off. CEOs entering the social media arena are advised
to have a clear purpose for their communication or risk failure to engage with people. As a
result, it is more important for the CEO to listen rather than send information.
Social networking should therefore not be about posting amusing or insignificant photos of
oneself; rather it should be a place to conscientiously build one’s online personal brand or
corporate reputation (Barton, 2014). The real skill required is the ability of users to adjust their
behavior between personal and professional with agility and sometimes within the same
communication. All the while, the user needs to be careful that the message is appropriate for
multiple audiences (Papacharissi, 2010). With the increased use of social media for
communication, fewer direct face-to-face conversation skills are being developed as people are
typing or videoing their messages (Heller, 2006). With a decline in interpersonal skills
combined with not knowing who is listening to their message, social media users risk being less
particular on content accuracy and tone. To succeed as a social CEO, business leaders need to
know what to post and how to present it in a way to capture the attention of target stakeholders.
This will enable them to engage more with their internal teams, partners and customers
(Drumright, 2014).
According to Leavitt (2014), more often than not, a CEO’s tweets are not run through legal prior
to being sent. This has caused challenging issues and even law suits (Leavitt, 2014). For
example, in December of 2012 the CEO of Netflix posted a 43 word message on his Facebook

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feed congratulating his team for exceeding 1 billion hours of video watched in a single month
which immediately triggered an increase in stock market activity. This precipitated an
investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for illegal conduct by the CEO.
The main concern that the SEC expressed over CEOs communicating company information is
that all shareholders should receive the information at the same time. Under this premise, the
SEC updated regulations to allow social media as an acceptable communication platform,
however companies must inform shareholders in advance what platform(s) they will use (de la
Merced, 2013).
CEOs therefore need to exercise caution with what they post on social media, whether approved
by their legal team or not. Information, whether true or false can have a significant effect on
markets as in the case of a Twitter hoax in 2013 allegedly by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).
The SEA claimed US President Obama had been injured in an explosion causing the Dow Jones
Industrial average to drop 150 points, erasing $136 billion in market value. While this was a
temporary hoax and the market regained shortly after, it highlights the profound impact that
social media can have in business (Chozick & Perlroth, 2013). While CEOs may indicate they
are using social media to increase transparency to stakeholders, they tend to select certain
components of private information, reshape and construct it in a way that shields much of the
truth. In this way, the ‘spin’ placed on private information often distorts the truth or at least
conceals negative aspects that would be damaging if made public (Heller, 2006).
The body of research until now identifies current trends, benefits and risks as well as quantifies
the number of CEOs active on social media. What is not understood is whether social media
skills will be essential for next generation CEOs or will they be, at best a compliment to a the

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traditional array of leadership and management skills acquired through experience or
management studies. Research undertaken in this study will provide insight through a series of
interviews with current and future CEOs from around the globe whose views are summarized
later in this paper. The next chapter provides the methodology implemented in this research to
obtain the findings presented in a later section.

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Chapter 3: Methodology
The literature review provided secondary data with insights on current trends, benefits and risks
associated with social media. This section will describe the methodology implemented to obtain
and analyse the data.
To allow the data to represent popular opinion as exemplified by analysing the views and
behaviour of participants, an inductive approach was selected for this research (Saunders, Lewis
& Thornhill, 2012). Aspects of the data, such as the number and ratio of participants using a
particular platform. required quantitative analysis. Other elements of the data that involved
participants’ views, behaviours and opinions were analysed in a qualitative manner. Quantitative
data components are most beneficial for measurements and tend to be closed-ended responses
whereas qualitative data tends to be more open-ended without a predetermined set of answers.
Recognising the need to evaluate both primary and secondary data quantitatively and
qualitatively, a fully integrated mixed method research design was determined to be most
effective (Creswell, 2014). This enabled numerical data and subjective views from the literature
review to be compared and contrasted with the primary data obtained as part of this research.
Both the quantitative and qualitative data were used to identify emerging trends.
Secondary data
Secondary data was obtained through academic journals, text books, business articles and online
sources such as the EBSCO Online Research Database. As may be expected given the nascent
subject matter, the depth of academic based research and peer reviewed journals is considerably
less than would be found for a long established topic. As social media has evolved dramatically

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in the past few years, the most relevant research was considered that which occurred recently. In
an effort to obtain a current and relevant perspective, research conducted in the last 3 years was
given greater attention while any research performed more than 10 years ago was considered
largely irrelevant.
Due to the relatively new and rapid evolution of social media, it was important to use the internet
as a valuable source of information. The primary internet search engines used were Google
Scholar and Google. Carefully selected search terms were used to identify relevant material
from web-based sources. The greatest results were obtained from the following:
 CEO Social Media
 Essential Future CEO skills
 Social CEO
 Twitter CEO
The search results were filtered by publication date to allow greater focus on current research.
One of the limitations encountered was that only material produced in English was used in the
research. Although this was deemed sufficient to obtain general trends, the research may have
benefited from research conducted in languages such as Japanese, Korean and German and
compared to English-based research.
Primary Data
While secondary data provided general insights from previous studies, to have data specifically
on the research question, primary data was gathered. This data was obtained through a series of

27
interviews in line with those conducted by Perry (2013). From the outset, 27 executives were
identified; each having market prominence and many having prior contact with the author. This
was considered an important part of the selection criteria to facilitate access to the participants.
The criterion did not restrict the geographic representation as executives were identified from 6
countries spanning 10 time zones. Of these, 12 agreed to participate. In-depth interviews were
conducted with 9 participants, while scheduling conflicts prevented participation of the other 3.
The cohort comprised current CEOs as well as senior executives at a Vice President level or
above (See Appendix B). Gender was not considered a factor in the selection process and was
therefore random. To provide a balanced view, the participants were selected from a variety of
industries in Europe and North America including high tech, entertainment, oil and gas,
management consulting and local government. The companies they represented ranged from
large, established multinationals to small and mid-market enterprises (SME’s) (See Table 1). All
companies were, at the time, considered successful and financially sound. Although not all
companies were global, they all traded beyond their local market at least at a national level and
many internationally. This was an important criterion to ensure that not all customers, vendors
and stakeholders were in the immediate vicinity so that frequent face-to-face communication
with the CEO was improbable. About half of the participants were initially contacted to take
part in the research through LinkedIn messaging. This approach was desired as it identified
those already with a social media presence of some sort. The rest were contacted by telephone
or email.

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Table 1: Participant Profiles
Participant Title Location Industry # of Employees
1 CEO Europe Entertainment <100
2 GM North America Entertainment >500
3 CEO North America High Tech <100
4 EVP North America Management Consulting >500
5 SVP North America Management Consulting >500
6 SVP North America Management Consulting >500
7 VP North America Energy >500
8 SVP North America Energy >500
9 CEO North America Public Sector <100
Setting
Interviews with participants were conducted either in person or by telephone. Of those
conducted by telephone, 2 participants were in their car and another was in a taxi during the
interview. The rest were in their office. Although the participants represented a range of time
zones spanning 10 hours, the interviews were prearranged and conducted during the participant’s
normal business hours. This was intended to place the participant in a business mindset, rather
than a social mindset that may have occurred outside of business hours.

29
Materials
Materials required for the interviews were minimal. Participants were not required to have a
social media account of any sort as this would pre-select those with a bias toward social media.
Once the executive agreed to become a participant, they were provided a copy of the research
questionnaire in advance (See Appendix A). There were 10 questions in all. The first 2
questions were designed to provide a reference point for the industry and company size from
which the participants worked. Question 4 was a closed-ended question which asked
participants to score themselves on how proficient they were with social media. No guidance
was given as to what constituted high or low proficiency, so this metric was largely based on
how they felt as a user. According to research, this approach provides a more accurate measure
of proficiency as participants are more sensitive than external observers to the determinants that
contribute to their self assessment (Fox & Dinur, 1988). The remaining questions were
constructed as Yes/No questions where the participant was then asked to explain their response.
This design enabled both quantitative and qualitative analysis to be performed on their answers.
To enhance the design and structure of the questions, the Academic Survey Question Bank
(Survey Question Bank, 2015) was consulted for examples of survey questions.
Consideration was also given to the order and composition of the questions. Following the
recommended interview format from the BBC, the questionnaire began with a few simple,
straightforward questions to capture information about their company. The questions then
became more in-depth asking about their beliefs on the topic and finally requiring the participant
to offer their view of the future in social media (BBC, 2015).

30
Procedure
The procedure of the interview was relatively straight forward. Whether the discussion was
conducted by telephone or in person, participants were advised in advance that the purpose of
the research was to determine if social media skills will be essential for the next generation of
CEOs. Each interview began with a brief informal exchange of greetings and general discussion
before directing attention to the interview questions. Whether in person or over the telephone,
participants were read the question and asked for their response. In the case of in-person
interviews, participants were provided a written copy of the questionnaire if they did not already
have one to hand. The interview questions were addressed in ascending sequential order.
Regardless of their views, participants were encouraged to provide commentary to support their
answers drawing from personal and professional experiences. Most interviews lasted 15 to 30
minutes. The interviews were captured in written note form as well as audio recording and later
summarised for analysis. Consent was obtained by email for any participant quotes included in
the printed research material.
Evaluation
By using the mixed method research format, there existed more scope to capture qualitative and
quantitative data from various sources. The quantitative aspects of the data provided metrics on
the general percentage of the sample population that view social media as an essential skill
versus those who did not. Also, it provided other important ratios on platform preferences,
proficiency ratings and the views of those with an established social media presence and those
without. These metrics and ratios were analysed to identify trends and relationships with the
qualitative data, revealing further insights beyond the numbers.

31
From a qualitative perspective, the research was able to capture varying views from the
participants and reasons why they held their view. The qualitative evaluation provided further
insights on views by industry, function and company size. Most importantly, participants
offered their views of what key skills would be essential to future CEOs and why.
One of the challenges encountered in capturing the primary data was when the response given to
a “Yes/No” question was “maybe,” “sometimes,” “that depends,” or other variations containing
ambiguity. In such cases, any response other than a “No” was considered to be a “Yes.” In all
“Yes/No” questions, participants were asked to explain their response. Where there was
ambiguity, their explanation was used to ensure “Yes” was the appropriate answer, which was
confirmed in all cases.
This chapter has described the methodology for gathering and analysing the data. The next
chapter will present the results and provide a discussion to support the interpretation of the
results.

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Chapter 4: Results and Discussion
The previous chapter described the methodology implemented to obtain and analyse the data.
This chapter presents the primary data gathered from the participants and synthesises it with
previous studies to provide the results of this research. Here the results are interpreted and
discussed to draw conclusions from the data.
The participants in this research were identified from a broad range of industries and provided
input on a volunteer basis. All participants were asked to respond to 10 questions (see Appendix
A). While the structure and format of the questions provided a basic framework for each
participant to provide a minimum threshold of input, participants were generally quite open in
their responses. General probing to determine why participants gave the answers they did (in
questions 3, 5-10) allowed for a richer understanding of their views. This often provided insight
into the possibilities and limitations of social media beyond the set questions. The primary data
resulting from the interviews with selected CEOs and executives are presented below.
1. Briefly describe your company’s product.
The responses provided by participants are given below.
 Global Management Consulting firms (Management Consulting)
 Digital music subscription service (Entertainment)
 Global software, hardware and services company (High Tech)
 Online solution for citizens to engage with public officials and candidates (High Tech)
 Energy transportation company (Energy)
 Government-owned Market Development Organisation (Public Sector)

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 Energy Exploration and Production company (Energy)
2. Describe the size of your company:
Participants were selected randomly without regard to company size. The company sizes
represented were as follows:
Figure 2: Participants' Company Size
In addition to the Fortune 500 companies represented in previous studies (Domo, 2013a), this
research included executives from non-Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller companies
with fewer than 100 employees.
3. Do you use social Media? Why?
All participants in the study used social media, although the degree to which they used it and the
reasons varied considerably. The question intentionally did not differentiate between personal
and professional use. All participants used LinkedIn for professional purposes to maintain
contact with their network and it was viewed by the group as a business-only tool. The primary
reasons for using Twitter included getting a professional point of view into the market place and
communicating with stakeholders. Facebook was popular with two-thirds of the participants as
a means for keeping in contact on a personal level.

34
Figure 3: Social Media Use
In addition, 44% of participants indicated that being on one platform is not enough. Inge
Severin, CEO of InProdicon states “you have to use multiple platforms to reach people in a
variety of ways, as these are not only professionals but also human beings and socially active.”
He further indicated “to be viable, it is important to understand all variations of social media and
how they are best used” (Severin, 2015). The purpose for using multiple platforms was to build
a brand, personal and professional, as well as increase customer acquisition, retention and
provide customer support. Social media was also used as a tool to identify new trends, interest
groups and follows news on market issues.
This study revealed all participants had a social media presence in contrast to the Domo (2013a)
study where just 32% of Fortune 500 CEOs have a social media presence of any kind. The
primary data in this research indicated company size had no effect on influencing the likelihood
of the executive using social media. This is likely due to the rapid increase in social media use
in recent years.
4. How would you rank your proficiency in social media on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being
expert?

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Using a self-ranking approach without specific criteria as to what constitutes being an expert
versus a novice, participants indicated how proficient they felt on social media. In the low
proficiency categories of 1 and 2, no individuals ranked themselves as 1 while 2 participants
ranked themselves at proficiency level 2. A level 3 proficiency rating was considered average at
which 4 participants ranked themselves. Levels 4 and 5 were considered to be highly proficient
users with 2 participants at level 4 and 1 at level 5.
Figure 4: Proficiency Ranking
Participants who ranked their proficiency lowest (0-2), used social media primarily for obtaining
information on areas of interest both personal and professional. They also used fewer social
media platforms, mostly just LinkedIn. This group not only identified fewer benefits to using
social media, but also identified fewer risks. These participants were all from large, global
companies and had been with the organisation for more than 10 years. This indicates that future
CEOs of large multinationals may find lower levels of social media engagement among their
employees than smaller companies.

36
Those who ranked themselves mid-table (level 3) in proficiency used social media primarily for
outward dissemination of information. They typically used 2 platforms: LinkedIn for
maintaining professional contacts and Facebook for personal use. This group comprised of
participants from both large and small companies.
Participants that ranked their proficiency highest, (4-5) used social media for both listening and
posting information. They viewed social media as a tool for customer acquisition and were more
likely to use social media to develop their personal brand. As their personal brand was closely
linked to their company brand, it contributed to an overall positive impact on the company. As a
result, this group used multiple social media platforms, viewing each one as having an advantage
in certain situations. Participants in this group were from both small and large companies and
used social media frequently as a resource for community engagement.
5. What social media services are better suited for professional purposes (ie. LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Snapchat, Instagram, other)? Why?
LinkedIn was unanimously selected by all as a social media service better suited for professional
purposes while 78% of participants indicated Twitter and 56% indicated Facebook were also
good for professional purposes.
As for the reasons why, LinkedIn was identified as the most effective tool for maintaining a
professional network. In some cases, participants had large numbers of Linkedin connections
that afforded them a warm contact within almost any company with whom they wanted access.
Twitter was considered a key tool for communicating outwardly to stakeholders. Participants
also viewed it as a means to build one’s personal brand, professional brand, to steer the message

37
to stakeholders in a targeted way, drive professional interests toward followers and to attract new
employees. From a Human Resources standpoint, when cast in the context of Porter’s 3 generic
competitive strategies based on cost, differentiation and focus, social media can offer a
differentiation strategy to openly communicate the company’s values, differentiate their benefits
from others and attract labour resources (Porter, 1980b)
Figure 5: Professional Platforms
The majority considered platforms like Snapchat and Instagram best suited for personal
communication, not professional. According to Tom Schember, Senior Vice President at RGP,
social media platforms “do not replace face-to-face personal interaction but they provide greater
access to more people on a more frequent basis.” He further indicated that “effective use of
social media can also help lead to more face-to-face interaction” (Schember, 2015). Facebook,
while recognized by fewer as a professional tool, was considered a favourite for personal
communication. Other platforms such as Tinder, WhatsAp? and Glass Door were considered
good for facilitating feedback from stakeholders such as past and present employees or
customers. When a critical number of people begin using a certain platform, it was viewed as
important to understand how to use it effectively.

38
One participant indicated that to determine the value of each for professional use, a platform
needed to be used for its strengths. For example LinkedIn is not best suited to humour, sarcasm
or quirky photos whereas Instagram and Snapchat are. According to Russell Reeder, CEO of
iCitizen, “you need a different message for different social platforms and need to figure out how
to communicate your message most effectively to those users, even though it is your same
personality you are conveying. You cannot dismiss any platform if customers are on it” (Reeder,
2015).
Findings from the primary data were also aligned with secondary data whereby LinkedIn,
Twitter and Facebook were identified as the top 3 social media platforms for business use
although not in the same order (Domo, 2013a).
6. Do you believe using social media is or would be beneficial for your company? Why?
Although all participants were united in their belief that social media held benefits for their
company, the benefits varied. One participant felt his business (and businesses in general) will
not be able to sustain themselves without exposure and promotion on social media. Stating that
as television advertising has largely moved to social media, if you are not there, you do not exist
to the public.
Figure 6: Social Media Benefits

39
Social media was also viewed as a tool to help provide analytics and understand how do deal
with audiences in a leveraged way. Furthermore, it was beneficial for customer acquisition and,
if used properly, it could be useful for customer support. It was also viewed as a means to
communicate subject matter expertise, content, advertise events, build brand awareness, as well
as provide an employee 2-way communication forum. LinkedIn was considered valuable for
targeting specific people for communications about events, promotions and more. According to
Mary Moran, President and CEO of Calgary Economic Development, “we do social media
campaigns to tell Calgary’s and our organisation’s story.” She continued by stating the benefit
of social media over traditional media is “it gives us better control of our message and provides
access to audiences we would otherwise not be able to reach” (Moran, 2015). With the added
control over what was once the domain of press and mass media, social media may enable
organisations to enlarge their vertical boundaries to include advertising and promotion (Begg &
Ward, 2004).
Social media was also considered a tool for increased efficiency to eliminate many steps in
communication requiring emails, phone calls and meetings. It was also recognized as a great
tool for recruiting. Tim O’Rourke, Senior Vice President of RGP indicated that social media
allows companies to “connect with the people who want to be connected with you.” When
casting his sights forward, he stated:
Think about how young people communicate. If you are not communicating with them
in that way, that is a lost opportunity. You can communicate with them from the
perspective of them being your clients, from them being your future employees and from
lots of different angles. If that is where the next generation is, as we look forward to the
next 10 years as a company, we need to be there (O’Rourke, 2015).

40
Further responses included the ability of social media to put an appropriate face on the company
for brand management. It enables the company to put facts on sensitive issues and provide
balance for stakeholders. As indicated by Gary Hart, Senior Vice President at Suncor Energy,
one of the benefits of social media is that it:
allows companies to proactively manage issues and be the source of information - be
deliberate and start the dialogue. If you don’t, the messaging will happen on its own,
often without regard for accuracy (Hart, 2015).
Not only was social media considered a valuable tool for communicating, it was also considered
valuable to the product development lifecycle. According to one participant, marketing teams
can use crowd sourcing to harness user interest groups for new product and service development.
It also enables new innovations to be tested with focus groups providing critical feedback long
before they are launched, saving time and money. This reveals an opportunity for social media
to improve allocative efficiency and productive efficiency of an organization (Begg & Ward,
2004). Crowd sourcing may afford organisations greater market input thereby enabling them to
produce desired goods at the optimal level for minimal cost.
The benefits afforded to companies using social media were all associated with outward
communication of information to stakeholders. This is in contrast to 56% of the participants
citing their personal use of social media was to also receive relevant information, as well as
communicate outwardly. Perhaps this is where CEOs and corporate leaders believe the greatest
advantage of social media is to give them access to a larger audience. With a large base of
followers or connections, CEOs can outwardly communicate relevant business updates, new

41
product information and other relevant content to improve customer acquisition and employee
loyalty. As in the case of Richard Branson, a single tweet or posting can reach thousands of
relevant people much quicker than traditional broadcast media.
What was not cited as a significant benefit of social media at an executive level was its ability to
be a source of information. This may be for a number of reasons. Perhaps executives turn to
more traditional sources such as the radio, TV, the internet or print media for their market
intelligence. Perhaps social media is more akin to a microphone rather than a speaker. Despite
recognising social media only for its potential as an outward communication tool, it is still seen
as beneficial by all participants.
7. Do you believe using social media is or would be a risk for your company? Why?
The vast majority of participants (89%) indicated that using social media presented risks to the
company. Participants pointed to the importance of knowing how to use social media and what
to do if things go wrong. All participants who believed there was risk in using social media
cited brand reputation as a key risk. The wrong message can have a negative impact and travel
fast. Once a perception becomes set, it was considered hard to undue or retract. Often the
general media will use only parts of a message which can be misleading.
Figure 7: Social Media Risks

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It was recognized that many companies have failed on social media by trying to be something
they are not as the company values must align with the message. Cases were given where user’s
egos got in the way negating the value of social media. In addition, 22% of participants
indicated policies were in place to prevent employees from representing the company on social
media. Either an external firm or a dedicated team was in charge of all social media activity
providing a focused effort with a methodology and message.
Skill level was also identified as a factor pointing to a fundamental difference in the way that
social media was used between digital natives and executives. There was also risk associated
with mixing people from 30 years ago with people from one’s current personal life, family life
and work life as people change, mature and their values evolve.
Other risks included the security and privacy of people. As some data will be stored in the cloud
it needs to be protected. The view posited by one participant was that the greater risk was by
not using social media and that any brand awareness advantages offered by social media would
be lost if their organisation did not embrace social media. Participants generally recognised the
benefits of social media outweighed the risks.
8. If you hired your own replacement, would a prominent social media presence be a
required attribute? Why?
The views of participants were split on this issue with 56% indicating a prominent social media
presence would be required. Those in favour primarily indicated their replacement would be
considered uninformed and not in touch with the market without a social media presence. One

43
participant stated more specifically that a prominent market presence by the executive in the
relevant domains of the role would be required, not just a general social media presence.
Figure 8: Replacement Requires Social Media Presence?
Those that would not require their replacement to be on social media unanimously felt though, it
would be nice to have. They pointed to other skills that were more important and generally
indicated their role could be performed well without a social media presence. In one case, the
participant suggested that as the company employed an external company for their social media
needs, any requirements would be met; yet surrounding him or herself with skilled social media
people would be advantageous.
Of the 56% of participants that indicated they would require social media skills of their
replacement, the same participants had the highest proficiency ratings on social media. This
suggests that those more engaged in using social media whether for professional or personal
purposes, see more advantages in leveraging social media for performing their role.
9. Do other executives in your company use social media to represent the company?
Why?

44
With the majority, 78% of participants answering yes, most have multiple executives using
social media to represent the company. Not all were equal though as some were only occasional
users who re-Tweeted company issued statements. Others pointed to corporate programs where
all executives were on social media and the company operated a program to nurture the use of
social media for their own use as well as for clients. According to Steve Canepa, General
Manager of IBM’s Global Media and Entertainment industry, this trend is increasing:
We are in a phase of transition where social media is becoming increasingly important
for marketers of all industries as it provides a direct source of insight to current and
potential customers. The media industry due to the power of its brands is leading
innovation in this area (Canepa, 2015).
Figure 9: Other Executives Use Social Media
Multiple participants claimed that by being active on social media, the true voice of the company
would be heard without the message diluted. As indicated by Paul MacGregor, Vice President at
TransCanada Pipelines Corporation, social media can allow executives to not only “put their
views in the market but also listen to the market.” He further indicated “executive comments
will be out there in the market anyway so it is best if they come directly from the source in their
original form” (MacGregor, 2015).

45
Of the participants indicating fellow executives did not use social media, as covered earlier,
some companies employ a dedicated team for their social media needs with a hands-off policy
for executives and employees. Another view held by some was that executives in their company
have been and continue to be effective and successful in their roles without it. There were
however, people at more junior levels in these organisations using social media. It was also
identified by several participants that the role of the executive largely determined their use of
social media. Those in a selling, marketing or general promoting role were more likely to use
social media than those in internally focussed roles such as accounting or audit.
10. Will knowing how to use social media to communicate to company stakeholders be
essential for the next generation CEO? Explain.
Social media was recognised unanimously as an essential skill for the next generation CEO.
Notably, the industry sector had no effect on participant’s views. Reasons given were that you
must be where your customers are. Businesses would not be able to sustain themselves without
exposure and promotion on social media. Others were more specific indicating the essential skill
is the ability to build brand awareness to your client and potential customers. Also companies
today need to leverage social media for both marketing and campaign optimisation, securing a
more precise view of what people think of its brand, products and/or services. Allowing
competitors to better exploit this new source of 'data' and insight introduces additional
marketplace risk. Mr. Canepa states “an effective CEO will have to understand how to use these
external sources of data – social media included – to influence the efficacy of their sales,
marketing and brand management strategies” (Canepa, 2015).

46
Figure 10: Is Social Media an Essential Skill?
Participants also indicated how social media can bring the CEO closer to stakeholders where
they can be seen as more human: balanced and real. It was also considered a way to enhance the
communication from the top level of the company to the rest of the group. In addition, with the
way that people are growing up now, they are more likely to communicate on social media. The
next generation stakeholders will be more comfortable on social media therefore communication
will need to be on the platforms they use. It was also considered an essential tool to compete for
attention from stakeholders in the market. On sensitive issues, the negative press that
organisations inevitably encounter needs to be balanced with contrasting views that help
represent the whole story.
Despite being considered an essential skill for the next leaders of the company, only 78% of
participants indicated that other executives in their company engaged in social media for
corporate purposes. These are presumably the next generation of CEOs. In some cases,
company policy was that all social media communication for the company was to be managed
through a dedicated team or outside company. How then, will successors from within the
organisation develop the skills and the following required to eventually take over the top job
unless they have firsthand experience representing the company on social media and have built
up a credible following?

47
Much of the primary data captured by this research had not been represented in previous studies.
It not only highlighted the relatively open space for studying social media but also exemplified
the nascent nature of the subject. Areas such as the number of CEOs on social media in 2013
versus the number active in 2015 possibly indicate a growth in CEO participation (Domo,
2013a). Other data regarding the perceived benefits and risks of using social media were
generally aligned in that they both exist but the benefits outweighed the risks (Biro, 2014;
Jameson, 2014; Leavitt, 2014; Perry, 2013; Tobak, 2014).
Although all considered social media as an essential skill for future CEOs, not all used it to
promote their company. Could this be due to current executives having established a pattern of
stakeholder communication without using social media that supports their needs adequately?
They therefore anticipate future CEOs will have grown up using social media and will be more
accustomed to using it as a primary tool for communication. But is having a strong presence on
social media enough to take full advantage of the perceived benefits of social media? Knowing
what to post and when, will separate the strong from the weak. This will be what distinguishes a
social media user from a social media master.
This chapter has synthesised the data to provide results along with recommendations from the
research. The following chapter provides a summary of key points and discusses the wider
impact of this research for management studies. It also discusses the strengths and limitations of
the research and presents areas for further study.

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Chapter 5: Summary and Areas for Further Research
The arrival of the internet marked the beginning of one of the greatest communication
transformations in human history. Social media has afforded corporations and individuals alike
unprecedented access to large audiences with near instant communication. Previous research, as
described in the literature review section of this paper, identifies current adoption levels among
Fortune 500 CEOs and the perceived benefits and risks associated with their use of social media.
To determine if social media skills are essential for the next generation CEO, a mixed method
approach was implemented for this research, which synthesised primary and secondary data
through quantitative and qualitative assessment. The primary data was provided by in-depth
interviews with current and future CEOs to determine their habits and views on social media
with the results offering insights into what skills will be required of future CEOs.
This thesis combined the findings from previous research with the views of current and future
CEOs as interviewed herein for the purpose of determining if social media skills will be essential
for the next generation CEO. Among participants, social media was recognised unanimously as
an essential skill for the next generation CEO, verifying many of the benefits identified in
previous research (Biro, 2014; Jameson, 2014; Perry, 2013).
Among the main findings of this research, it was determined that CEOs will need to be visible
and active on social media to listen and communicate with stakeholders. Even participants who
considered themselves to be novice users of social media, believed that this is an essential skill
for the next leaders. Businesses will be better able to sustain themselves with exposure and
promotion on social media. Competitors whose CEO can more effectively exploit this new
source of communication and insight will enjoy a distinct advantage. From the primary data

49
gathered, users with the highest proficiency used social media in numerous ways to improve
company performance. They listened to current trends, published their views, built their
personal and professional brand, recruited talent, developed new clients and provided customer
support. Therefore, the more CEOs invest in improving their skills, the more they can benefit
from social media.
Going forward, a social media presence for CEOs may be tantamount to requiring a recognised
university degree today. There will always be exceptions – and exceptions that do very well,
however this research has indicated the majority will be expected to have a moderate-to-strong
level of social media skills as table stakes before being considered as worthy candidates for the
CEO role. But is having a strong presence on social media enough to take full advantage of the
perceived benefits of social media? Not only will CEOs be required to post information, but
perhaps the more delicate skill of knowing what to post and when, will separate the strong from
the weak. In other words, there is a distinction between being a social media user and being a
social media master.
The Wider Impact on Professional Practice
When cast in a wider context, CEOs in the future will need to not only have a presence on social
media, but also be skilled at maximising social media as a management tool. Management
theory will need to look at current marketing, sales, recruiting, communications, strategy and
leadership practices to see how they can be applied in the context of social media. More
specifically, each of these areas that have historically been separate divisions within a company
will converge to be represented by the CEO. Will the CEO’s role increasingly become that of

50
the public communicator for the company, or will they become more active in each of the above
divisions? Will knowing how to engage a large number of online followers become more
important than delivering a passionate and inspiring speech at the annual employee meeting?
Never before have CEOs had such ability at their disposal to compete with the mass media
channels that have such power to influence public opinion. In essence, highly social CEOs will
develop social currency where the combination of their online brand and legions of followers
will make them more attractive to do business with. This social currency can offer a competitive
advantage. Will they use it wisely?
Strengths of the Research
Beyond previous studies focusing on the social media habits of Fortune 500 CEOs, this research
incorporated the views of companies large and small, European and North American. While
prior studies have provided metrics on the number of CEOs using social media, this research
used a mixed method to also gain qualitative insights from current and future CEOs. As a result,
further information was provided on why social media is an important factor for CEOs and how
it will be used.
Limitations
In research of this nature, it is difficult to predict the future when advances in technology bring
about unforeseen changes. While there is no indication that social media will disappear anytime
soon, there remains a possibility that other forms of communication may be developed as a
replacement.

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In addition, while the sample size for the primary data is considered to be sufficient for a general
indication of executive viewpoints, due to constraints of time and budget, it was not possible to
obtain the views of CEOs representing companies of all sizes in all industry sectors across all
countries.
Areas for Further Research
While this research has indicated that social media skills are essential for the next generation
CEOs, there remains the question of what specific activities will be most beneficial. Will
gathering information be as important as posting information? Will large heterogeneous groups
of followers be more beneficial than small focused connections? Does the use of social media
need to evolve at different stages of a company’s growth from startup to public listing, product
maturity and so forth? Also, are there tangible benefits for CEOs that embrace social media that
can be directly linked to bottom line performance? Further research could also be conducted to
determine if the views presented here hold true for non-English speaking cultures.
In addition, what was not captured in the research data are the environmental influences. Will
executives that have children at home who are active on social media be more inclined to be
active on social media themselves? What impact will the company location have, whether it is
situated in an urban versus rural location or in a developed versus developing nation? Also, will
increased activity on social media equate to greater effectiveness as a leader and on company
performance? While intuitively, this may suggest to be the case, knowing what to say and when
to say it is a separate skill from learning how to post information. Finally, what influence will

52
the CEO’s age have on their views of social media? These uncertainties are bound to hold the
clues to high performing CEOs of the next generation.

53
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Appendix A. Interview Questionnaire
Social Media Skills
Essential or not for the next generation CEO?
Interview Questionnaire
The information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence in accordance with the
University of London School of Management research ethics and guidelines.
1. Briefly describe your company’s product or service.
2. Describe the size of your company:
a. < 100 employees
b. 100 – 499 employees
c. > = 500 employees
3. Do you use social media? Why?
4. How would you rank your proficiency in social media on a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being expert?
5. What social media services are better suited for professional purposes (ie. LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter, Google+, Snapchat, Instagram, other)? Why?
6. Do you believe using social media is or would be beneficial for your company? Why?
7. Do you believe using social media is or would be a risk for your company? Why?
8. If you hired your own replacement, would a prominent social media presence be a required attribute?
Why?
9. Do other executives in your company use social media to represent the company? Why?
10. Will knowing how to use social media to communicate to company stakeholders be essential for the
next generation CEO? Explain.

59
Appendix B. Interview Participants
Table 2: Interview Participants
Participant Title Company
1 Mr. Inge Severin CEO & Chairman ICE Business
Development AB,
InProdicon AB
2 Mr. Tim O’Rourke SVP RGP
3 Mr. Steve Canepa GM IBM
4 Mr. Russell Reeder CEO iCitizen
5 Ms. Mary Moran President & CEO Calgary Economic
Development
6 Mr. Tom Schember SVP RGP
7 Mr. Paul McGregor VP TransCanada Pipelines
8 Mr. Gary Hart SVP Suncor Energy
9 Undisclosed Participant EVP Management Consulting
Firm

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