'Hello!? Any leaders here?' Community leading, knowledge sharing and representation: MEPs use of online environments for e-representation

Abstract : Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are rarely a subject of study, and when studied it is normally during elections (Jankowski et al, 2005, Jackson & Lilleker 2010) or studies examine their adoption of innovations in communication (Elvebakk 2004). Consistent with trends in the study of the role of electronic and digital political communication, this study not only analyses adoption but focuses on determining the strategic function of the websites and social networking profiles of all online MEPs elected in 2009. Studies of individual candidates focus on a range of political and personal variables in order to explain the use of new communication technologies, with resources emerging as a key variable (Druckman et al. 2009, Williamson 2010). MEPs are unique in that they are all equally resourced; hence we seek to discover the extent to which national or personal variables act as key differentiations in strategy.