Top manager social media usage and business model innovation: the moderating role of CEO risk-taking propensity
基于高层梯队理论，研究了高层管理者社交媒体使用对商业模式创新的影响，发现信息导向型使用正向促进创新，关系导向型使用呈U型关系，且CEO风险承担倾向调节这两种关系。
Purpose Despite increasing attention on top managers leveraging social media to directly interact with stakeholders, a comprehensive understanding of top manager social media usage (TMSMU) and its effect on business model innovation (BMI) remains elusive. Based on upper echelons theory (UET), this study proposes a research model that associates TMSMU with BMI, wherein CEO risk-taking propensity is considered as a contingency factor. Design/methodology/approach The research model was examined with a multimethod approach. This work included an instrument development study to establish the scale for TMSMU. Archival data and one-wave multiple-respondent survey data from 1432 top managers in 358 manufacturing firms were analyzed to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that TMSMU has two dimensions: information-oriented SMU and relationship-oriented SMU. Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that information-oriented SMU is positively related to BMI, whereas relationship-oriented SMU has a U-shaped relationship with BMI. CEO risk-taking propensity strengthens the positive relationship between information-oriented SMU and BMI but weakens the U-shaped relationship between relationship-oriented SMU and BMI. Originality/value This study enriches the literature on TMSMU by conceptualizing and developing measures for two types of TMSMU. The findings indicate that TMSMU facilitates BMI, while CEO risk-taking propensity serves as a boundary condition of the effect of TMSMU on BMI. By identifying TMSMU as a way to broaden top managers' cognitive base, this study contributes to the contextualization of UET in the social media context.