Competition or Silence? The Double-Edged Sword Effect of ESM Affordance on Employee Creativity

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for inviting me to revise this paper titled Competition or Silence? The Double-Edged Sword Effect of ESM affordance on Employee Creativity

This study aimed at studying the complex impact of Entreprise Social Media on employee creativity considering

1.     the mediating role of Prestige-striving behaviour and quiescent silence;

2.     the moderating role of the need for uniqueness.

I congratulate the authors as the article is very well written and it is possible for the reader to follow the reasoning behind the hypothesis perfectly.

There are just a few points I would like to suggest to the authors.

First, I personally think it is important that the objective of the research is clearly stated, which, however, remains implicit in this version (at least in the introductory section). A clear indication of the research objective would make it possible to follow the development of the work even more clearly.

Secondly, it is important that the authors justify the choice of sample in the methodology. This aspect was also neglected in the current manuscript.

Thirdly, it is important that the authors, in the section devoted to the discussion of the results, make an effort to ensure that rather than repeating the results of the research, they are discussed critically in relation to the existing literature and thus contribute to the advancement of knowledge on the topic

 

Finally, I suggest the authors revise the abstract

Author Response

Dear Professor, 

Thank you so much for your advice! Here are my corrections.

1. Research objective was added in the Introduction "In order to make up for the shortcomings of the above studies, this study tried to explore both the positive and negative impacts of ESM affordance on employees’ behaviors and employee creativity. They provided reference for managers to recognize ESM more comprehensively. Besides, this study also introduces moderating variables to weaken the negative impact of ESM affordance on employee creativity and strengthen the positive impact of ESM affordance on employee creativity. Help managers make better use of ESM in their organizations."

2. The reason why I chose the sample was added "The questionnaires for this study were mainly distributed to eight companies in Nanjing and Zhengzhou. In order to ensure the validity of the data, the enterprises selected for this study are mainly knowledge-based. The use of ESM is more prevalent in knowledge-based enterprises as communication is crucial for knowledge-based enterprises. "

3. The dissertation section has also been improved according to your feedback, and specific changes can be found in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The topc is interesting but there are some flaws:

The focus of the research is primarily at the individual employee level. Extending the analysis to the team or organizational level could provide a more holistic understanding of how ESM affordance influences creativity within different contexts.

While the paper attempts to establish a mediated-moderation model, the complexity of the relationships between ESM affordance, Prestige Status-striving Behavior (PSB), Quiescent Silence (QS), and NFU might be oversimplified. Further elaboration on the underlying mechanisms and potential interactions would enhance the robustness of the model.

The paper mentions the use of age and personality as control variables without providing detailed insights into their selection or potential impact on the results. A more comprehensive discussion on the rationale for control variables is essential.

The paper does not thoroughly explore alternative explanations for the observed relationships. Considering and discussing alternative hypotheses would strengthen the paper's arguments and interpretations.

While the practical implications are outlined, there is limited discussion on the challenges and potential barriers in implementing the suggested managerial strategies. A more nuanced discussion on the practical feasibility of the recommendations would be beneficial.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

It's ok.

Author Response

Dear professor，

Thank you so much for your advice!

1. Due to the use of regulatory focus theory in this study. This theory is mainly used for personal psychological research. Therefore, this study also focuses on the individual level. However, based on your suggestion, we have added a discussion on future ESM related research at the team level in the discussion section. "Thirdly, the research in this study is limited to the employee level, and future research can consider researching from the team or organizational level to deepen people's understanding of  ESM affordance. For example, from a team perspective, the heterogeneity of a team's knowledge makes it one of the critical elements of its creativity [74]. However, it has been demonstrated that the use of social media will have a peer-to-peer effect [75]. Therefore, whether there are moderating variables that minimize the peer effect in teams due to the use of social media can also be one of the directions for future research."
2. For point 2 and point 4,  according to regulatory focus theory, individuals have two types of self-regulation, namely, promotion regulatory focus and prevention regulatory focus. So in our hypothesis, it was suggested that ESM affordance would promote different behaviours through two different foci. Had it been based on other theories, the hypothesis might have been richer. Thank you very much for your suggestion and we will pay more attention to this issue in our future research.
3. The reason why I chose control variables was added. "Concerning previous studies, the age and gender of the individuals will influence employee creativity [73]. Thus, employees’ age and gender were used as control variables in this study."
4. Challenges and potential barriers in implementing was added. "

   In addition to this, because that ESM is being used a lot in the organization. It also poses a challenge for managers to manage their employees. From this study, it can be seen that managers need to invest some resources to develop the psychological capital of their members, which in turn enhances the positive mindset of their employees. When employees have a positive mindset, it is easier to generate healthy competition. For the managers themselves, their competence in using information technology is also critical. When managers are able to use and understand ESM better, they will be able to guide their employees in the organization and steer the use of ESM in a positive and innovative direction."

5. You could see the details in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Summary: The authors conduct a survey of employees from eight companies to investigate the role the companies’ use of social media (and hence social media’s access) plays in explaining worker creativity.  The authors pay attention to the mediating role of prestige-driving behavior, quiescent silence, and the need for uniqueness.  The key contribution of the paper is the fact that it investigates the possible factors that hinder the link between social media access and creativity in terms of their presence and magnitude.  The topic of the paper is interesting enough but the paper desperately needs to be checked for grammar.

 

Comments in more detail

 

1.       Abstract:

 

a.       Define “Enterprise Social Media”: Is it firm use of social media? What is it?  Is it the use of Facebook (provide examples)?  This definition should be the first thing to mention, in the first sentence of the Abstract because it is critical to help the reader appreciate the rest of the paper.

 

b.       Line 13: “Based on communication 13 visibility theory and regulatory focus theory.” This is not a sentence.

 

c.       Line 15: “With need for uniqueness (NFU) as the 15 moderating variable.” This is not a sentence.

 

d.       Line 17: Mention when data were collected and what country were respondents from to provide quick context foe the analysis.

 

e.       The last two sentences are too repetitive and are not needed.

 

 

2.       Introduction:

 

a.    Line 32: define what you mean by “Enterprise Social Media” otherwise the reader has not clue what the paper and statements mean.

 

b.    What is “nail” mentioned in line 33?

 

c.     Line 53: How is EMPS affordance defined?  What do the authors have in mind when talking about affordance? Affordance from which perspective? Firms’? Please clarify.

 

d.    The second paragraph from the bottom of page 2 is good in clarifying what the gaps in the literature are.

 

e.    Line 91: “this study based on 91 communication visibility theory as well as regulatory focus theory.” Is another example of a sentence that is grammatically incorrect.

 

3.       Literature review:

 

a.    The structure and amount of detail is clear.

 

b.    Use present tense when describing H4a and H4b as you do for other hypotheses.

 

 

4.       Methods:

 

a.       How were the eight companies chosen?  What are characteristics fo the companies in terms of industry, size, etc.?

 

b.       It would be of interest to correlate their measures with some observable characteristics of firm performance.

 

c.       How is worker personality measured (control variable 3.2.6)?

 

 

5.       Results:

 

a.       Line 403: incorrect grammar in two spots in “The results 403 were showed in Table 3. It is obviously that...”

 

b.       Wy not report standard errors together with the estimates in Table 3?

 

c.       Do you mean standard error rather than standard deviation in Table 5?

 

 

6.       Discussion:

 

a.       I do not understand the title of 5.2. as it seems to suggest that the section will discuss how results can inform theory but that is not what is being discussed.

 

 

 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Needs to improve.

Author Response

Dear Professor, 

Thank you so much for your advice.

1. All the grammar mistakes were corrected.
2. The definition of ESM was added in the first sentence in the abstract. "Enterprise Social Media (ESM) refers to a platform built on Web 2.0 technology dedicated to online collaboration and information sharing among employees within an organization."
3. the definition of ESM was added in the introduction. "ESM is a platform that allows employees to communicate and exchange massages with partners; post, edit and sort text and files; view the communication and files anytime in the organization. "
4. the definition of ESM affordance was added in the introduction. "ESM affordance mainly refers to the visibility, persistence, editability, and association characteristics that ESM possesses."
5. The reason why I chose the firms was added. 'The questionnaires for this study were mainly distributed to eight companies in Nanjing and Zhengzhou. In order to ensure the validity of the data, the enterprises selected for this study are mainly knowledge-based. The use of ESM is more prevalent in knowledge-based enterprises as communication is crucial for knowledge-based enterprises.'
6. Control variables were corrected.

   "Concerning previous studies, the age and gender of the individuals will influence employee creativity [73]. Thus, employees’ age and gender were used as control variables in this study."

7. SE was added in Table 3.
8. There was SE in Table 5 not SD.
9. Disscussion was corrected, you could see the details in the attachment. 

Thank you so much !

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Authors mahe good job improving paper.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Is.s ok.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

none