Investigating online community portals for enhanced alumni networking

Purpose – The core purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which web portal technology and online communities could be successfully applied by the alumni offices of higher education institutions in South Africa (using the University of Johannesburg as a case study) to create information‐sharing with and amongst its alumni affinity groups, in order to build and maintain valuable relationships, networks and partnerships.Design/methodology/approach – This research project falls under Pasteur's quadrant of use‐inspired research. Using quantitative empirical research, a total number of 10,380 questionnaires was distributed to graduates of the University of Johannesburg at the Autumn graduation ceremonies in April 2006, thereby making it a self‐selecting, purposeful (purposive) and convenient sample.Findings – Based on the literature study, the results of the empirical research and the case study, the final conclusion made from this research project is that an online community portal can enhance to...