Who are the Players? Finding and Characterizing Stakeholders in Social Networks

Technological advances and the generalized use of the Internet provide the necessary conditions to exploit social networks. These inter-organizational systems involve several players, with different influences, roles and interests. To design social networks it is critical to identify its stakeholders. Neglecting their presence can hide network threats that can compromise its success, as well as the development or acceptance of its supporting information system. We present an approach for carrying out stakeholder identification considering the specific demands of social networks. We sought inspiration in stakeholder identification criteria for inter-organizational environments, in social network analysis, in business model theories, and in social theories. The result was an iterative approach that systematically helps refining the stakeholder set, their roles, and the social network context. We illustrate the use of our proposal through its application to Facebook.