How can a corporate brand (of higher education) benefit from social networks in its internal communication strategy?: the case of Catholic University of Portugal, Porto

The purpose of this research is to investigate how a corporate brand of higher education can benefit from a social network for the development of its internal communication strategy. The research strategy involves a case study about Catholic University of Portugal, in Porto, and a qualitative data analysis. The results obtained suggest that, in comparison to its competitors, Catholic University of Porto is still at an early Web 1.0 stage, not taking advantage of the interactivity and customization potential of its internal communication. Social networks are indeed used, but only for external communication. In contrast, some of its international competitors use a private social network, Ning, to improve their corporate communication strategy. Findings also show that these tools are favorably perceived by the university’s employees, and could allow Catholic University to improve its internal communication system considerably. In particular, the use of social networks would offer professors and researchers an effective platform for sharing their research, building valuable partnerships or working in multidisciplinary projects. We believe that this research presents important benefits, both from an academic standpoint (several research domains were involved) and from an organizational perspective (by contributing to the strengthening of the university´s corporate brand). The main contribution of this work is related with the development of an exhaustive strategic plan for the implementation of an internal corporate social network.