It's Not Just What You Say, but How You Say It: The Effects of Enterprise Social Media on Service Management, Through the Lens of Signaling Theory

Human Resource Management · 2026 · Volume 65 · Issue 1

Abstract

Frontline service workers are crucial to service delivery and have been a long-standing focus of research, with scholars and practitioners alike maintaining an interest in their effective management. As technology increasingly transforms this context, the way in which managers in service organizations communicate with frontline workers has also evolved, with a notable increase in the use of enterprise social media (ESM). This study investigates the idea that it is not just ‘what’ management says (service-oriented messaging) but ‘the way’ they say it (via ESM) that matters. Drawing on interviews with 36 informants and guided by signaling theory, this study explores how ESM influences customer-focused signaling via management communication and HR implementation in the frontline service context, fostering conditions for a service climate. Findings reveal that ESM's affordances can potentially enhance service climate by strengthening HR system strength, promoting voice, and fostering informal leadership. However, risks such as manager role ambiguity, perceptions of mixed messaging, and over-surveillance are also identified. This study highlights the double-edged implications of ESM in its shaping of service-oriented signaling and emphasizes the importance of the signaling environment in realizing its benefits while mitigating its risks.

Keywords

affordances, enterprise social media, frontline management, service climate, service-oriented communication, signaling theory

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