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My Leader Sent Me a : The Influence of Leader Smile Emoji Usage on Follower Attitude

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2025

Shengming Liu ,
Mingpeng Huang ,
Dong Ju Open the ORCID record for Dong Ju [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhiying Shi  and
Minya Xu Open the ORCID record for Minya Xu [Opens in a new window]
Shengming Liu
Affiliation:
Fudan University, China
Mingpeng Huang*
Affiliation:
University of International Business and Economics, China
Dong Ju
Affiliation:
Beijing Normal University, China
Zhiying Shi
Affiliation:
Fudan University, China
Minya Xu
Affiliation:
Peking University, China
*
Corresponding author: Mingpeng Huang ([email protected])
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Abstract

Digital technology enables employees to communicate with each other via virtual platforms. Emoji, particularly smile emoji, has received significant attention in virtual communication research. Drawing upon expectancy violation theory, we propose that in digital communications with followers, leader smile emoji usage has a positive effect on follower satisfaction with leader through perceived leader intimacy. In addition, leader smile emoji usage has a negative effect on perceived leader effectiveness through decreased perception of leader power. We further propose that the effects of leader smile emoji usage hinge on follower power distance orientation such that the negative effects of leader smile emojis usage are more pronounced for followers with high versus low power distance orientation. An experiment and a field study supported our hypotheses. Our research sheds light on the benefits and potential pitfalls of smile emoji usage in leader–follower digital communication.

摘要

摘要

数字技术使员工能够通过虚拟平台进行沟通。表情，尤其是笑脸表情，在虚拟沟通研究中受到了广 泛关注。基于期望背离理论，本研究提出，在与员工的数字化沟通中，领导使用笑脸表情 会通过增强员工对领导亲密感的感知，进而提升员工对领导的满意度。另一方面，领导使用笑脸表情也会通过降低员工对领导权力的感知，进而降低员工感知的领导效能。我们进一步提出，领导使用笑脸表情的影响取决于员工的权力距离导向，对权力距离导向高的员工来说，领导使用笑脸表情 的负面影响更为显著。一项实验和一项实地研究支持了我们提出的假设。我们的研究揭示了在领导与员工数字沟通中使用笑脸表情的好处和潜在的问题。

Keywords

leader effectivenessleader intimacyleader powerleader satisfactionpower distance orientationsmile emoji领导效能领导亲密度领导权力对领导满意度权力距离导向笑脸表情
Type
Article
Information
Management and Organization Review , First View , pp. 1 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Association for Chinese Management Research

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