Lens Application of Social Construction Theory and Social Influence Theory to Examine the Factors of WhatsApp Usage as an Organizational Communication Medium

Abstract

Social Construction Theory assumes that the development of communication technology in the organization causes the organization's staff to share meanings and actions responding to the technology. Meanwhile, the Theory of Social Influence explains the impact of new technology applications such as social media usage affects the environment. These theories emphasise that social media such as WhatsApp has taken over traditional communication and become one of the primary communication channels in the organization. Accordingly, based on the assumptions found in both theories, this study was conducted to identify the determinants of WhatsApp acceptance as a medium of interaction between staff in an organization. Specifically, this study applies a qualitative method to examine WhatsApp usage as a medium of interaction. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with the middle-level management staff at a public university. All informants were the staff members who have served the university for more than five years and have used WhatsApp for work-related matters. The interview transcription was analysed using the thematic analysis based on the assumptions of both theories. The research finding shows that the combination of both theories were able to explain the factor of WhatsApp usage and its implications among the staff in the organization. Therefore, this study has contributed towards the strengthening of the assumptions found in the Theory of Social Construction that is interpretive flexibility, tolerance, socio-cultural and stability, and also in the Theory of Social Influence which is compliance, identification, and internalization. In addition, this study has also contributed to studies related to communication technology usage and strengthening the theories related to these aspects. Keywords: Social media, WhatsApp, qualitative study, social construction theory, social influence theory.