Elsevier

Technology in Society

Volume 55, November 2018, Pages 199-208
Technology in Society

Moderating roles of IT competency and work cooperation on employee work performance in an ESM environment

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2018.08.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • ā€¢

    This study investigates how ESM influence the work performance through task interdependence.

  • ā€¢

    Results manifest that task interdependence mediates the relationship between ESM usage and work performance.

  • ā€¢

    IT competency and work cooperation significantly moderates the relations.

Abstract

This study investigates how the utilization of enterprise social media (ESM) influences the work performance of employees through task interdependence. ESM is an open and public platform that facilitates employee discussions on work-related issues. Most scholars in this area focus on the effects of ESM usage on employee work performance but are unclear regarding the advantages of ESM usage through task characteristics. Through data collected from 175 workers who adopted ESM in the workplace, this study examines ESM usage and verifies whether and how ESM usage is positively associated with work performance through task interdependence. The moderating roles of work cooperation and information technology (IT) competency are also examined. The findings confirm the significant role of ESM usage in improving work performance through task interdependence. Moreover, IT competency strengthens the link between ESM usage and task interdependence as well as work cooperation. This study contributes to existing literature by suggesting the managerial benefits of ESM usage, task interdependence, and IT competency while clarifying their effects on work performance.

Introduction

In recent years, organizations have invested vast amounts in emerging technologies, including enterprise social media (ESM) and information technology (IT). ESM is a group of digital collaborative technologies which is becoming increasingly widespread [1] and facilitates knowledge-sharing activities within organizations [2]. ESM utilization in the workplace enables organizational communication and knowledge sharing, which were not possible in past years [2]. Enterprises are implementing ESM tools for several purposes, including work-related communication, information sharing, and social communication [3,4], all of which have led to a proliferation of studies on the various outcomes of ESM usage that are significant to employees and organizations [5,6]. The first important measure of employee progress in the workplace is work performance [7], that is, whether an employee is working efficiently. Similar to other emerging technologies, ESM usage has been controversial in the workplace. For instance, some studies claim that ESM usage in the workplace improves employee work performance [8,9]. By contrast, other studies reported that ESM usage reduces employee productivity and increases wastage of time because of personal messaging [[10], [11], [12]]. These divergent opinions illustrate the mixed results. Therefore, researchers continue to investigate whether and how ESM usage influences work performance [2,13]. However, most studies only focus on the effects of ESM usage on overall work performance [1,6]. Owing to the innovation of emerging technologies, task interdependence is widely performed by employees in the workplace [14]. Therefore, the current study examines the influence of ESM usage on employee work performance through task interdependence.

Scholarly knowledge of the process that explains how ESM usage influences work performance has not been examined intensively. According to several scholars [15,16], determining the effects of ESM usage in the workplace is necessary to advance the theory and management of ESM. Following this suggestion, we claim that task interdependence provides employees with goal-related specific information and procedures on how to efficiently use this information [17], making a difference in the creativity and performance of employees [18]. Task interdependence is the degree to which the interaction and coordination of employees are required to complete tasks in the workplace [19]. A high level of task interdependence leads to positive work outcomes [20]. Using ESM to process and elaborate information improves communication among employees, which is helpful for task interdependence [[21], [22], [23], [24]]. Therefore, on the basis of past research, we study the role of task interdependence in transmitting the effects of ESM usage to work performance.

Scholarly theoretical understanding is lacking due to the limited insight into the contextual factors that influence ESM usage and interdependence associations [9,25]. Employees are more rapidly increasing in organizations than before [26]. Employees are a source of varied information [27] as they exchange information, ideas, knowledge, and skills with their colleagues [28]. Given the nature of fostering information sharing via ESM usage [10], mass information produced by employees are immediately disseminated and thus induces certain interruptions. To date, scholars have predominantly focused on the moderating role of employee competency on the effects of ESM usage [29,30]. Numerous organizations have begun to develop strategies that focus on their employees' IT competency to facilitate the effective collection and utilization of information. In this study, we consider IT competency as an employee's perceived knowledge and competency on using IT tools including ESM tools, operating systems, and office-related software as well as his/her understanding of computer applications in business [31]. Hence, the moderating role of IT competency on the relationship of task interdependence is necessary in transmitting the effect of ESM usage to work performance.

Employee work cooperation is also needed because when an individual is performing a task interdependently, information, resources, expertise, and coordination with other employees are also required [32,33]. Work cooperation is a social behavior that is crucial in the workplace when tasks are interdependent [34]. It is a key mechanism through which employees find solutions to work-related problems with the support of their workmates [29]. Cooperation is the ability of employees to solve problems and collaborate with colleagues when the task is interdependent [35]. Furthermore, work cooperation establishes a friendly relationship with partners, enabling them to accomplish their goals easily [29]. Thus, we first discuss the theoretical positions that explain how cooperation can interact with task interdependence and employee work performance.

In this research, we design a research model that explains how ESM usage influences the work performance of employees through task interdependence and how this type of moderation affects work performance. We provide theoretical and literature support for our argument that ESM usage is positively related to work performance through task interdependence. Fig. 1 depicts our conceptual model, which we will develop in subsequent sections.

This study is organized as follows. First, a brief overview of the study is given (i.e., ESM usage in the workplace, effects of task interdependence, IT competency, and work cooperation). The next section provides a detailed theoretical discussion of our research model and presents the hypotheses. Next, the research methodology and data analysis are explained. In the last section, the paper concludes with a discussion of the results, future work, and research contributions.

Section snippets

Usage of enterprise social media in the workplace

ESM is an application of the Web 2.0 digital platform which allows users to post, update, and share work-related information [1,36]. It is widely used by employees in the workplace to interact and collaborate with one another [[37], [38], [39]]. For instance, large companies have begun to develop their ESM systems for internal communication, including IBM's ā€œBeehiveā€ and HP's ā€œWatercooler.ā€ According to past literature, ESM usage and the related services market will increase at a rate of 61%

Sample and data collection

This study employs the survey method to predict the behavior and associations between variables and constructs [88]. The survey was conducted in China, a developed country in terms of economy and technology [47] with increasing popularity of ESM technology. Based on the report of Towers Watson, Chinese professionals are widely using ESM as a cost-effective tool for organizational communication [47]. Prior research also suggested that involving Chinese respondents in ESM studies yields

Common method bias

The common method bias [95] was analyzed because all data were collected from a single source at the same time. We used multiple methods to confirm method bias. First, we used Harman's single-factor test on all five variables. The resulting principal component factor analysis yielded 17 factors with eigenvalues >1.0, accounting for 92.80% of the variance, with the first factor describing only 28.15% of the variance. Second, the common latent factor [95] approach was used to test the data. We

Discussion

This research aims to explore the influence of ESM usage on work performance through task interdependence. It proposes a conceptual model in which ESM usage exerts an influence on work performance through task interdependence. This research also considers the moderating effects of IT competency of employees and work cooperation (Fig. 2, Fig. 3, respectively). While [53] found that task interdependence is a predictor of collaborative technology, the present study found that usage of a

Acknowledgement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. There is no any research funding or grant from any organization is associated with this manuscript.

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