Does enterprise social media use in the post-acceptance stage improve employee autonomy? An information processing perspective

Purpose With the prevalence of enterprise social media (ESM), this study examines how the innovative and routine ESM use behaviors in the post-acceptance stage influence the quality and quantity dimensions of information processing (i.e. information equality and information overload), subsequently affecting employee autonomy grounded in the digital information management theoretical (DIMT) framework. This study further explores the moderating effects of communication visibility on the relationships between employee autonomy and each of the two information processing factors. Design/methodology/approach The proposed theoretical model was empirically validated using survey data of 266 knowledge workers that use ESM in a hybrid working context. Findings The results demonstrate that innovative and routine ESM use have different impacts on the quality and quantity dimensions of information processing, and information equality (quality dimension) improves employee autonomy as expected, but, surprisingly, information overloads (quantity dimension) as well. ESM communication visibility positively moderates the relationship between employee autonomy and each dimension of information processing. Originality/value Prior studies on ESM use widely focused on ESM's positive and negative outcomes and the mechanisms from the perspectives of employees' psychological and cognitive reactions. How ESM use behaviors in the post-acceptance stage empower employee autonomy and allow organizations to leverage the organizations' information technology (IT) investments remains unclear. Drawing on the information processing perspective, this study provides a novel angle to examine how to leverage IT values that stem from ESM use by considering the complementary roles of active and passive information processing.