Toward an Employee Communication Mediation Model: Exploring the Effects of Social Media Engagement on Employee–Organization Relationships and Advocacy

Authors

  • Yuan Wang Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong
  • Yang Cheng Department of Communication, North Carolina State University
  • William J. Gonzenbach Department of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Alabama

Keywords:

social media engagement, employee–organization relationships, employee advocacy, organizational identification, COVID-19

Abstract

Grounded in the framework of the communication mediation model, this study examined the impacts of employees’ organizational identification and social media engagement on their relationships with their organization and advocacy behavior through a national survey of employees working at large organizations in China. The current study found that employees’ organizational identification significantly affects their social media engagement and perceived relationships with their organization. It also documented that social media engagement has a positive impact on favorable employee–organization relationships (EORs), which influence employee advocacy. Furthermore, social media engagement and EORs were identified as mediators to explain how the influence flows from organizational identification to EORs and that from social media engagement to advocacy. This study is a pioneering study to apply the communication mediation model to the public relations field and proposes the employee communication mediation model to enrich public relations theories. Its results have practical implications for Chinese organizations.

Author Biographies

Yuan Wang, Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong

Yuan Wang (Ph.D., The University of Alabama) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at City University of Hong Kong. His research interests focus on the roles of digital media (e.g., social media and mobile technology) in public relations processes and outcomes, including relationship management, public engagement, and dialogic communication, through social scientific approaches. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, New Media & Society, Public Relations Review, International Journal of Strategic Communication, and Southern Communication Journal. 

Yang Cheng, Department of Communication, North Carolina State University

Yang Cheng (Ph.D., University of Missouri Columbia) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, North Carolina State University. Her research interests include relationship management, digital media and crisis communication, and AI-powered tools in business and health communication. Some of her publications have appeared in top journals such as the International Journal of Communication, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, New Media & Society, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Mass Communication and Society, Asian Journal of Communication, and American Behavioral Scientist. 

William J. Gonzenbach, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, The University of Alabama

William Gonzenbach (Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a professor emeritus in the Department of Advertising & Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. He used to serve as a fellow in the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. His research interests focus on the relationship among the media, public relations, and public opinion formation. His research publications include articles in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Political Communication, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, International Journal of Strategic Communication, and Gazette. 

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Published

2022-08-19

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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