WEIBO TO THE RESCUE? A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN CITIZEN–GOVERNMENT RELATIONS IN CHINA Vincent Homburg, Rebecca Moody Primary Author mixed material bibliography ENGLAND EMERALD INSIGHT 2022 monographic en ENGLISH

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BAIK Purpose – In this study, the authors explain citizens’ adoption of social media in citizen–government relations in China, a country that blends an authoritarian governance regime with limited tolerance of and responsiveness to online citizen participation. Design/methodology/approach – Original survey data were gathered using a vignette survey among 307 respondents living in the People’s Republic of China. Multivariate analysis of the data was used to test four hypotheses and identify antecedents of Chinese citizens’ social media adoption for “thin” participation purposes. Findings – Citizens’ perceived impact of “thin” participation, citizens’ skills and capabilities and citizens’ trust in institutions are significantly associated with citizens’ social media adoption. Social media anxiety was found not to be associated with Chinese citizens’ social media adoption. Research limitations/implications – This study demonstrates how vignettes can be used to study adoption of technological and institutional innovations in an authoritarian governance regime and how in this context existing adoption theories can be extended with notions of institutional trust to adequately explain citizens’ adoption of technological and institutional innovations in citizen–government relations. Social implications – Although some argue that social media activity could potentially mitigate democratic deficits caused by the state, in the case of China, the intertwinement of state and social media platform renders this argument unsustainable. Originality/value – This study is one of the few systematic survey studies focusing on Chinese citizens’ adoption of social media in citizen–government relations. Social media, Thin participation, Digital engageme NONE Repository Universitas Langlangbuana Sistem Repository Elektronik Skripsi, Tesis, Desertasi dan Penelitian Dosen Universitas Langlangbuana JC301-TG-22 V16.1.7 My Library WEIBO TO THE RESCUE? A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN CITIZEN–GOVERNMENT RELATIONS IN CHINA TRANSFORMING_GOVERNMENT.png.png 2532 2023-12-20 23:30:41 2023-12-20 23:31:30 machine generated