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Dear colleagues,

The use of Internet in Latin America in the last decade presented a great growth, with more than 800% increase in the amount of users and a proportion of 34% of the population of this region being longtime user of this resource (Internet World Stats, 2009). This growth was closely monitored by the wide use of virtual communities, or digital social networks, as Orkut (in Brazil), Hi-5 (in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador), Linkedin and Facebook (in other countries). Sociability is a hallmark of the Latin population, what is why the virtual communities are so successful among Internet users and serve as an incentive to non-users to join the World Wide Web environment. The layer of the population aged up to 30 years is the most connected on the Internet and they have transformed the interaction in digital social networks in a great passion. Despite this growth in the digitalization of social networking, in Brazil, for example, companies don�t explore this easy way of communication with their customers and suppliers as much as they could, looking for an extension of their market, improvement of its products or a closer relationship with the community that could bring them some advantage, besides some isolated initiatives. Some companies in Latin America explore some of these tools in the Marketing Area mainly, but there are so many to do�but what exactly? This is the point that this caucus would like to explore: even that Digital social media use information and communication technologies (such as the Internet, Web-based technologies, and/or specific software systems) for users and (possibly emerging) communities to collaboratively generate and exchange content and, more generally, to interact, the companies don�t use this interaction to improve their results or to collaborate in the generation of creative solutions for the community where they are inserted. Noteworthy is also the lack of social projects that fall in this virtual space for entrepreneurship, Governments or organized society (NGOs � non-governmental organizations). We have, therefore, a great paradox: the growth in use of digital social networks by population and the indifference of organizations in the use of this valuable resource communication and articulation of data and beneficent actions. In this context, we would like to discuss experiences that could find the barriers that hinder the use of digital social networks by organizations in Ibero America, as a way to create productive relationship with the population to improve its performance in socio-economic environment. Another aspect that we would like to explore is the possibility of using digital social networks, with its benefits and advantages, by companies that operate in Ibero America in order to reduce social inequalities, through the creation of collaborative projects between companies and their communities, once in these countries, there is a lack of organized and systematic actions presenting concrete results to reduce violence, improve the training of manpower, reduce social inequalities and contribute to a performance that consider the sustainability of the planet as a parameter to achieve business and social goals. Another goal of this Caucus is to promote a comparison between Latin American and Asia companies and countries,focusing Social Digital Networks, once they are all considered emerging economies, but they have remarkable differences that could be taken in account.

The main objective of this caucus is to generate reflection about the subject and new research questions. In this sense, this theme is multidisciplinary, once we can focus on strategy and social networks, or we can focus in aspects related to comparison of use of social networks around the world, in an International Management approach, or we can focus in entrepreneurial aspects, once the use of social networks can generate many opportunities to entrepreneurs, and so on. So, we would be glad if people interested in Ibero American studies, in a broad approach could join us in this discussion to generate a �brainstorm� about the subject and form some groups of research around the Ibero American world, comparing and identifying variables that are relevant in Ibero American and in Asia companies.