Moderating role of addiction to social media usage in managing cultural intelligence and cultural identity change

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the adverse effects of addiction to social media usage on expatriates' cultural identity change in cross-cultural settings.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted in two public universities in China. Among the questionnaires distributed, 333 useful responses were obtained from international students for data analysis.FindingsRegression results show addiction to social media usage exerts adverse effects by negatively moderating the relationship between associations with locals and the three dimensions of cultural intelligence. Addiction to social media usage impairs expatriates from developing cultural intelligence from associations with locals, which in turn affects their cultural identity change.Research limitations/implicationsResearch findings suggest that expatriates, administrators and educators should be highly aware of the adverse effects of addiction to social media usage in complex cross-cultural settings wherein expatriates are more dependent on information technology. The important role of cultural intelligence should also be highlighted for its bridging role in managing cultural identity change for acculturation purpose. No causal relationships between variables can be established considering the cross-sectional design of the research. Longitudinal or experimental design could be a promising methodology for future efforts.Originality/valueThe current research contributes to the knowledge on information management applied to cross-cultural settings. The present study combines an IT contingent view with cross-cultural study to explore the adverse effects of addiction to social media usage on the development of expatriates' cultural intelligence from associations with locals, thereby influencing cultural identity change. The research provides new perspectives to expand the nomological framework of cross-cultural studies by combining the enabling roles of information technology.

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