Benefits or burdens: The impact of social media interactivity on employee creativity

Since social media is widely employed to facilitate organisational workflow, understanding its dual role in both benefitting and burdening knowledge work is essential. This study draws on computer-mediated communication interactivity theory to develop and empirically test the paradoxical influence of social media interactivity on employee creativity. It proposes that social media interactivity facilitates knowledge exchange and engenders technology-work conflict, which influence employee creativity. Analysis of the empirical data collected from 387 employees in China reveals that while social media interactivity facilitates knowledge exchange, fostering creativity, it introduces technology-work conflicts, hindering creativity. Furthermore, social media dependence moderates these impacts, leading to both beneficial and burdening outcomes for creativity. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of social media role in the workplace, offering practical insights for leveraging its benefits while mitigating its drawbacks to optimise employee creativity.