Information sharing in a hybrid workplace: understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance

Y. Jasmine Wu; Brennan Antone; Leslie DeChurch; Noshir Contractor

doi:10.1093/jcmc/zmad025

Information sharing in a hybrid workplace: understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance

Y. Jasmine Wu^*, Brennan Antone, Leslie DeChurch, Noshir Contractor

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Shifts to hybrid work prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic have the potential to substantially impact social relationships at work. Hybrid employees rely heavily on digital collaboration technologies to communicate and share information. Therefore, employees’ perceptions of the technologies are critical in shaping organizational networks. However, the dyadic-level misalignment in these perceptions may lead to relationship dissolution. To explore the social network consequences of hybrid work, we conducted a two-wave survey in a department of an industrial manufacturing firm (N ¼ 169). Our results show that advice seekers were less likely to maintain their advice-seeking ties when they had a mismatch in ease-of-use perceptions of technology with their advisors. The effect was more substantial when advice seekers spent more time working remotely. The study provides empirical insights into how congruence in employees’ perceptions of organizational communication technologies affects how they maintain advice networks during hybrid work.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	zmad025
Journal	Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Volume	28
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad025
State	Published - Jul 1 2023

Funding

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation awards SES-2027572 and SES-2052366 and Fudan University\u2019s School of Management. Some of the ideas in the article were presented at the 2022 INSNA Sunbelt Conference. We thank Dr. Yunjie Xu and Dr. Hui Li from Fudan University, Carmen Chan, and Feodora Kosasih for their help with the data collection, and Derex Wangmang for his help with the data analysis. We are also immensely grateful to Daniela Raillard Arias, Yu Xu, the three anonymous reviewers, and Special Issue editors for their constructive comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation awards SES-2027572 and SES-2052366 and Fudan University\u2019s School of Management.

Keywords

SAOMs
advice networks
communication technology
hybrid work
media multiplexity theory
relationship maintenance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Communication

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1093/jcmc/zmad025

Cite this

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abstract = "Shifts to hybrid work prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic have the potential to substantially impact social relationships at work. Hybrid employees rely heavily on digital collaboration technologies to communicate and share information. Therefore, employees{\textquoteright} perceptions of the technologies are critical in shaping organizational networks. However, the dyadic-level misalignment in these perceptions may lead to relationship dissolution. To explore the social network consequences of hybrid work, we conducted a two-wave survey in a department of an industrial manufacturing firm (N ¼ 169). Our results show that advice seekers were less likely to maintain their advice-seeking ties when they had a mismatch in ease-of-use perceptions of technology with their advisors. The effect was more substantial when advice seekers spent more time working remotely. The study provides empirical insights into how congruence in employees{\textquoteright} perceptions of organizational communication technologies affects how they maintain advice networks during hybrid work.",

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Information sharing in a hybrid workplace: understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance. / Wu, Y. Jasmine; Antone, Brennan; DeChurch, Leslie et al.
In: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 28, No. 4, zmad025, 01.07.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

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T2 - understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance

AU - Wu, Y. Jasmine

AU - Antone, Brennan

AU - DeChurch, Leslie

AU - Contractor, Noshir

N1 - Publisher Copyright: VC The Author(s) 2023.

PY - 2023/7/1

Y1 - 2023/7/1

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Information sharing in a hybrid workplace: understanding the role of ease-of-use perceptions of communication technologies in advice-seeking relationship maintenance

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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