Using enterprise social media to investigate the effect of workplace conflict on employee creativity

Enterprise social media (ESM) has been commonly used by businesses and companies to provide a framework for communication and cooperation among individuals. However, studies have presented vague results related to the characteristics of ESM usage, which may be beneficial for workplace managers to enhance individual creativity. This study uses primary data from 346 Chinese employees working in different companies to assess the role of ESM usage in managing workplace conflict. Findings show that ESM usage has negative and insignificant effects on task and relationship conflicts, respectively. In addition, relationship conflict has a negative effect on individual creativity, while task conflict shows a curvilinear relationship with creativity. Task interdependence strengthens the relationship between ESM use and task conflict, but shows an insignificant relationship between ESM use and relationship conflict. Lastly, this research discusses the theoretical and managerial implications.