“We Work in International Companies”: Affordances of Communication Media in Chinese Employees’ Organizational Socialization

Abstract

This research examined how Chinese employees in international companies perceived and enacted affordances of communication technologies, including social media, during organizational socialization. An analysis of interview data from 25 Chinese employees working in international companies in China revealed that social media affordances contributed to diversification of Chinese newcomers’ organizational learning and deepened as well as constrained their workplace social connections. Furthermore, social media affordances of visibility, persistence, and association fostered development of unique identities as international company employees through their experiences of organizational culture, distinguishing them from employees in other types of Chinese organizations. © 2021 Central States Communication Association.