Unauthorised disclosure of organisational information through social media : a policy perspective

The unauthorised disclosure of organisational information through social media has become an issue. This has resulted in the need for organisations to re-evaluate ways of minimising the risks of information loss and disclosure via social media. The implementation of social media use policies can inform employees’ social media behaviours and ultimately lead to the creation of an organisational culture of awareness. Although organisations may have a social media policy in place, the issue of unauthorised disclosure of organisational information has not been given due attention. Hence, a pilot study of content analysis was conducted to explore how organisations address the issues relating to the unauthorised disclosure of organisational information via their social media channels. The findings of this pilot study revealed some emergent themes that are important for addressing the issue of information disclosure by comparing five different sectors. These emergent themes could guide researchers and practitioners in understanding and informing the organisational use of social media technologies.