The impact of social media on digital guanxi development in the Chinese workplace: A technology affordance perspective

Abstract

As organisational employees increasingly turn to social media for online guanxi development, uncovering how different types of social media contribute to interpersonal relationships (guanxi) becomes paramount. This study investigates digital guanxi in Chinese organisations by applying technology affordance theory to explore the complementary roles of various social media platforms. Our focus is on how these platforms shape both instrumental and affective dimensions of guanxi among employees. By conducting a case study with an exploratory approach, this study presents a theoretical framework elucidating how social media influences the formation of digital guanxi in the workplace. The findings indicate that enterprise social media (ESM) features enhance identity visibility, association, and knowledge sharing, thereby promoting instrumental guanxi by facilitating identity-based trustworthiness (xinyong), understanding, reciprocity, and professional reputation. Conversely, public social media (PSM) features foster social presence, interactivity, and self-presentation, bolstering affective guanxi by enhancing affinity-based trustworthiness (xinyong), intimacy, altruism, and social image. This research provides theoretical and practical insights into the distinct pathways through which social media contributes to guanxi development, offering a comprehensive framework for grasping the diverse aspects of digital guanxi within modern organisational contexts.