341 research outputs found

    Computer-mediated-communication and social networking tools at work

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    Purpose – Advances in information technology (IT) have resulted in the development of various computer‐mediated communication (CMC) and social networking tools. However, quantifying the benefits of utilizing these tools in the organizational context remains a challenge. In this study, the authors aim to investigate the effects of three specific tools, viz. instant messenger, email and knowledge forum, on facilitating the communication and social network at work, and their subsequent influence on individuals’ work performance. Together with a social network diagram, the proposed model is validated by a survey of 59 employees of a company which embeds these three CMC and social networking tools in the work process. The key findings, implications and future research are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – The authors verify the research model with data from the Hong Kong office of an international bank headquartered in London, UK. They also collected the data on the social networks of 59 employees to draw a network diagram of the respondents using the social network analysis software UCINET. Findings – The research model is fully supported by the survey data. Meanwhile, the social networks analysis also suggests the linkage of using IM at work and the high level of degree and high level of closeness. Originality/value – This study provided an empirical verification of media performance theories, evidenced by interactive tools such as IM and email. This research also directly linked the elements of social network, viz. degree, closeness and betweenness, with the CMC and social network tools, the communication, interactivity, relationship, and work performance

    The ties that bind: How the dominance of WeChat combines with guanxi to inhibit and constrain China’s contentious politics

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    Despite the market dominance of the 'WeChat' app in today's China, we currently know little about its significance for contentious politics. This paper argues that MIMAs facilitate communication within relatively strong tie networks (compared to conventional Social Network Sites) which prior research indicates is potentially consequential for patterns of contentious political engagement. Drawing on evidence from a series of Chinese WeChat-user focus groups, we reveal that these ‘chat apps’ create spaces where, although users are often connected through strong ties offline, contentious politics rarely manifests. This trend is driven by a range of dynamics, which we elaborate in a theoretically-informed thematic analysis. When contentious politics does emerge, it is reported by our focus group participants to be largely confined to matters of ‘pragmatic’ and/or ‘safe’ politics that concern defending the interests of individuals or discrete groups, but do not challenge the wider political system

    Employees’ workplace cyberloafing: based on the perspective of guanxi

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    Cyberloafing is the biggest time waster in organization, 69 percent of respondents admitted waste time on non-work related activities each day. This number might be higher in China for a larger population of cyber citizens. Previous Studies have investigated the antecedents from various perspectives, such as organization justice, deterrence and work stressor. No one addressed cyberloafing from the perspective of guanxi, even though the strength of guanxi directly determines the appropriate behavior of employees , and employees are grounded by such behavioral norms. To fill this gap, we proposed a research model from the perspective of guanxi theory to understand employees’ cyberloafing behavior

    DEVELOPING GUANXI THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: USER ARCHETYPES AND INFLUENCING FACTORS

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    Existing studies have suggested that enterprise social media (ESM) may be especially appropriate in facilitating the initial formation of guanxi, while public social media (PSM) is more suited to driving guanxi development past the initial stage. However, the different patterns of social media use in the context of guanxi development, and the antecedent factors that give rise to those patterns are two salient issues that remain understudied. We conducted a case study with the aim of exploring these issues, which revealed six user archetypes representing the different ways that the use of ESM and PSM can be combined for guanxi development. In addition, we identify a range of antecedent factors that influence how ESM and PSM are used. The user archetypes identified not only constitute a conceptual innovation, but also advance the sophistication of the current perspective of social media use in the context of guanxi development

    The Impact of Social Media on Digital Guanxi Development in the Chinese Workplace

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    Organisational employees increasingly rely on various social media to develop guanxi online, resulting in the potentially huge value of identifying how social media can contribute to guanxi development in the workplace. In this study of digital guanxi development within Chinese organisations, we examine the role of different types of social media on the development of guanxi and its various dimensions. Based on an exploratory case study, we propose a theoretical framework that illustrates two mechanisms by which social media influence the development of digital guanxi at work. Our preliminary findings suggest that enterprise social media and public social media provide and reinforce instrumental and affective values, respectively, thereby facilitating guanxi development in the workplace

    Virtual Collaboration with Mobile Social Media in Multiple-Organization Projects

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    This study investigates the use of mobile social media as emerging collaboration tools by virtual teams. Based on the construal level theory, it develops a research model hypothesizes that collaboration tool effectiveness influence contextual performance and task performance through the mediation of procedure agreeability. In addition, geographic dispersion, team size and project duration serve as moderators as they reflect virtual collaboration complexity. Empirical findings support most hypothesized relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

    Instant Messaging and Employee\u27s Performance: A Text Mining Approach

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    The adoption of Instant Messaging (IM) applications in the workplace remains contentious due to difficulties in adequately quantifying organizational benefits and how it affects individual performance. Previous research on the impact of IM usage on employee performance has been limited to analyzing primary data (i.e., survey methods), making it difficult to extrapolate the findings to a constantly changing workplace. In contrast, we investigate the relationships between these individuals\u27 IM usage at the workplace and their primary assessment metric in their organization, performance evaluation, using longitudinal data of employees\u27 IM activities and their performance evaluation collected from a US Fortune 500 financial company. Using cutting-edge text-mining techniques, we identify the primary purposes of IM utilization in organizations and assess the impact of those attributes on employee performance. Our findings show that IM in the workplace can improve team communication, knowledge-sharing experience, and social networking among employees, but it can also be disruptive. However, the combined effect of team communication and knowledge sharing on employee performance can overshadow the negative impact of IM interruption on employee performance

    Technology domestication in the Asian homestead

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    Social Media in Rural China

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    China’s distinctive social media platforms have gained notable popularity among the nation’s vast number of internet users, but has China’s countryside been ‘left behind’ in this communication revolution? Tom McDonald spent 15 months living in a small rural Chinese community researching how the residents use social media in their daily lives. His ethnographic findings suggest that, far from being left behind, social media is already deeply integrated into the everyday experience of many rural Chinese people

    DESIGNING MHEALTH APPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

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    The effective use of mobile IS offers great opportunities for improving health systems in developing countries and enhancing their quality of life. A case in point and, hence, an interesting research subject is Papua New Guinea for being a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Despite the opportunities, many mHealth solutions remain prototypical due to their design and lack of empirical evidence and just little literature discussing success factors exists. To overcome this problem, we derived Design Requirements for the implementation of an mHealth app. We followed a Design Science Research (DSR) approach (a) embedding a triangulation of a literature study, a user survey and on-site observations, (b) working in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary team and (c) evaluating the Design Requirements ex-ante by taking the example of an mHealth app to support midwives in Papua New Guinea. Practitioners, IS researcher, even design- or behaviourism-oriented, as well as transdis-ciplinary researchers can use the Design Requirement Framework for, on the one hand, design and implement applications in developing countries and, on the other hand, to take single already justified Design Requirements as starting point for a detailed investigation
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