Employees' Problematic Behavior of Using Enterprise Social Media: Role of Visibility Affordance and Perspective of Uses and Gratifications Theory

Abstract

As an emerging information technology (IT) platform, Enterprise social media (ESM) facilitates communication and collaboration among employees. However, recent studies indicate that some employees may use ESM excessively, resulting in the problematic behavior that can cause serious consequences for employees and organizations. This paper aims to explore the role of visibility affordance in leading to employees' problematic behavior of using ESM. Adopting the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this paper proposes a model construction to explore how the visibility affordance of ESM that satisfies different demands of employees can trigger their problematic behavior of using ESM, while the gratifications of employees' needs are reflected through their perceived value. In addition, this research will explore how employees' individual factors (i.e., self-regulation) moderate the development of their problematic behavior of using ESM. This research helps practitioners to effectively prevent such behavior of employees by understanding the mechanism and factors that account for its formation.