When a Consulting Case Study meets Emerging Theories: Broadening the Vision of Chinese Technology

Abstract

Through a consulting case study of a Chinese shipping company, this research finds that social media is preferred to ERPs for communications in supply chain IS. It was proposed that the theories of liquid communication, ubiquitous teamwork, fluid organizing and transactive memory systems explain the effect of social media compared to corporate information systems in corporate settings. Findings suggest that social media support liquid communication, the ease of shifting smoothly between multiple topics and the time allocated to communication, particularly in terms of lower time constraints. They suggest, too, that social media support teamwork, but that organization, rather than being fluid, remains structured. Most importantly, results find that social media support transactive memory systems, the understanding that each team member comes to the team with particular knowledge and skill sets and that the group trusts each team member to have those skills and to act on them. In the complexity of supply chain IS, therefore, this study shows that social media support teamwork goals and functions.