Self-efficacy as a shield: moderating the impact of enterprise social media on team collaborative performance

Abstract This paper examines the impact of enterprise social media (ESM) on employees’ collaborative performance. The purpose is to clarify conflicting results by examining both the positive and negative factors of ESM consumption. We gathered survey data from 200 employees at technology companies. PLS-SEM (SmartPLS-4) was used for analysis, with the PROCESS macro and bootstrapping. Measurement tests were highly reliable, with strong convergent and discriminant validity. Central results are uncomplicated. The use of ESM enhances employees’ access to social support, while also elevating perceptions of information overload. The relationship that exists between collaborative performance and ESM use is positively mediated by social support. In comparison, the information overload yields a negative mediating effect. The total impact of ESM on collaboration is non-linear: ESM promotes collaboration at low and moderate levels of use, but its effects decrease with higher use and may be detrimental at overload levels. Employee self-efficacy moderates the mediation channels. Higher levels of employee self-efficacy enhance the positive social support channel and undermine the negative overload channel. Some practical implications are implied. To begin with, managers should promote ESM behaviors that foster supportive relationships and knowledge sharing. Second, information flow should be regulated by organizational governance, filtering, and clear norms to avoid information overload. Third, specific training to raise employees’ self-efficacy will enable them to reap the benefits of collaboration and reduce cognitive strain. The present paper presents a synthesized empirical model that balances the contradictory ESM impacts and offers practical recommendations for organizations that must balance digital collaboration and employee well-being.