Abstract:
This case is about ‘FPM/PhD scholars’, an internet-based Facebook group. It was created by Manish Gupta, himself a research scholar, with the objective of providing a common platform for mutual learning to management research scholars. While it initially received an overwhelming response in terms of number of members, it became passive within two years despite several steps taken by Gupta, the administrator. Gupta wanted to engage the members in a meaningful way, but the initiative was also taking up a lot of his time and he was left wondering whether he should shift the group to a dedicated website or simply transfer the administrator rights to someone else
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Issues:
» To understand the theory of internet engagement and its importance in the modern means of socialization.
» To identify the factors that affected the internet engagement levels of group members.
» To understand the issues and challenges involved in ensuring internet engagement.
» To explore the steps to be taken to enhance members’ engagement levels.
Introduction
A Facebook group named ‘FPM/PhD scholars’ was created by Manish Gupta on May 11, 2013. The mission of this group was to provide a common platform for mutual learning to research scholars (those pursuing doctoral programs) in Management. While creating this group, Gupta, who himself was a research scholar, did not expect that the group membership would touch the 500-mark by the middle of 2014, the 1,000-mark by the end of 2014, or 1,500 by mid-2016. It was his passion for sharing knowledge that had persuaded Gupta to create the group but he had not really expected the membership of the group to surge to this level. It also presented him with challenges for which he was not prepared.
In the initial months, Gupta added people known to him to the group. He used other social media platforms to invite interested scholars to his ‘FPM/PhD scholars’ group. As a result, there was a strong growth in the number of pending requests for joining the Facebook group (See Exhibit I, II, and III). Gupta initially posted content related to upcoming prestigious management conferences, research workshops, and some news items related to interested parties
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Key words:
Internet engagement; Brand development; Brand engagement; Brand management; Socialization; Customer engagement; Customer satisfaction; Social media; Social brands; Social presence; Social media’s moderating influence; Navigating privacy; Adoption; Frequency; Intimacy metrics">
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