The Visibility Paradox: Social Media Use as a Manifestation of Status, Knowledge, and Disparity in Global Organizing

• In Event: B.E.S.T.: Networks and Social Media

Abstract

This study elucidates the mutual constitution of communication practice and status hierarchy through the investigation of quotidian practices in a global high-tech organization. Highlighting the paradoxical influences of communication visibility, afforded by the use of enterprise social media, this study delves into the ways in which workers in diverse groups interact with one another for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Drawing on in-depth interview data (N = 32) and online observation data, the analysis revealed that dispersed workers’ communicative acts served as constitutive forces that shape and were shaped by existing status hierarchies. Increased communication visibility enabled distributed workers to obtain needed knowledge; however, it simultaneously brought into relief knowledge disparities between high-status and low-status workers, thereby sustaining status hierarchies. This study contributes to advancing our understanding of the complex relationships between communication practice, material arrangements, and structural hierarchies that jointly constitute the process of knowing.

Author

• Heewon Kim, Arizona State U