The impact of enterprise and public social media use on guanxi formation and task performance

Abstract

This study examines the differential impacts of enterprise social media (ESM) and public social media (PSM) on guanxi formation and task performance in the Chinese workplace. Guanxi, a key cultural concept in Chinese society, encompasses interpersonal relationships that significantly influence organizational dynamics. Using a sample of 214 employees from a Guangzhou branch of a global logistics firm, we explored how ESM and PSM contribute to guanxi development, and how guanxi, in turn, affects extra-role behavior (ERB) and team identification, ultimately impacting task performance. The study found that ESM is more effective for work-related communications, fostering initial guanxi development, while PSM plays a crucial role in deepening social guanxi. These findings, further validated with analysis of a supplementary dataset comprised of 683 valid responses from employees of a China-based IT service provider, suggest that organizations should consider the distinct roles of ESM and PSM in workplace communication strategies, particularly in contexts where guanxi is pivotal. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that guanxi, developed through both enterprise and public social media interactions, plays an important role in fostering ERB and team identification, which collectively enhance task performance. The study offers theoretical contributions to the understanding of guanxi in digital environments and practical implications for managing social media use in Chinese organizations. • Work-related ESM use strengthens early-stage guanxi, while social ESM use shows no significant effect. • Guanxi boosts extra-role behaviour and team identification, which together improve employee task performance. • Social PSM use deepens guanxi, but work use on PSM undermines it, challenging broad social media claims. • Findings indicate ESM and PSM can cultivate guanxi by balancing formal work communication and informal ties.