Plenary Speaker
Dr. Yuan Sun, Professor

Dr. Yuan Sun, Professor

Secretary of CPC Committee and Deputy Dean of School of Business Administration, Zhejiang Gongshang University, China
Speech Title: The Impact of Enterprise Social Media Affordances on Employees' Thriving at Work: An Empowerment Theory Perspective

Abstract: Enterprise social media (ESM) bring new pathways to enable employees' thriving at work. This study examines the effects of ESM affordances (accessibility, persistence, and association) on employees' thriving at work through structural and psychological empowerment. The research model was examined with data on ESM use gathered from 311 employees. Results show that: a) structural empowerment mediates the effects of ESM accessibility and association on psychological empowerment, b) psychological empowerment mediates the effect of structural empowerment on both dimensions of employees' thriving at work (vitality and learning), and c) accessibility and association positively influence vitality and learning through a chain of mediating effects involving structural and psychological empowerment. The study contributes to the existing ESM literature and suggests that managers should implement appropriate strategies to leverage the value of ESM affordances in empowering employees and enabling them to thrive at work.


Biography: Yuan Sun is a professor, Secretary of CPC Committee and Deputy Dean of School of Business Administration at Zhejiang Gongshang University, China. His main research interests include electronic commerce, IT/IS Innovation, enterprise systems, performance evaluations, IS success, and online social networks. He is also interested in various research methodologies. His research has been published in various journals, such as Information Systems Journal, Information & Management, International Journal of Information Management, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Enterprise Information Systems, Electronic Markets, Computers in Human Behavior, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Computers in Industry, Computers & Education, Information Systems Frontiers, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Computer Information Systems, and various conference proceedings. Prof. Sun is currently serving as a Senior Editor for Information Technology & People, an Associate Editor for Journal of Electronic Commerce Research and Journal of Global Information Management. He is an executive member of the council of CNAIS.