A Shared Platform, Divergent Practices

"A Shared Platform, Divergent Practices: Organizational Disparities in WeChat Use Among Chinese NGOs"

Presented by Assistant Professor Shengnan Yang, Faculty of Information and Media Studies.

All are welcome. Part of the FIMS Seminar Series 2024/25.

Attend in-person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Register on Zoom

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital transformation across all sectors, forcing NGOs to navigate an increasingly digital landscape while operating with limited resources. In China, WeChat became the default infrastructure for communication and service delivery, yet NGOs adopted and used the platform in vastly different ways. What explains these disparities, and what do they reveal about the organizational digital divide?

This talk examines the digital divide among Chinese NGOs, shifting the focus from whether organizations have digital access to how they use digital tools differently. Using survey data and social media content analysis, we identify two key divides: First-level divide – Whether NGOs have access to WeChat, which is largely shaped by financial resources rather than digital skills or workforce structure. Second-level divide – How NGOs use WeChat, distinguishing between programming-based and non-programming-based use, revealing functional disparities in digital engagement.

Findings show that funding enables access, but organizational capacity determines disparities in use and may reinforce structural inequalities in digital engagement. Even though WeChat is free, resource-constrained NGOs often prioritize core service delivery over digital engagement, delaying or deprioritizing WeChat adoption. Moreover, while formalization and workforce capacity shape programming-based engagement, many NGOs—particularly those serving vulnerable populations—rely on non-programming-based WeChat features to sustain community interaction and service provision.

These findings extend existing digital divide models by differentiating types of social media use within a single platform, moving beyond a binary model (use vs. non-use) to examine how organizations activate and utilize social media affordances. They also emphasize that organizational capacity influences technology use but does not determine its impact. Rather than assuming programming-based use leads to better outcomes, future research should explore whether different modes of digital engagement—programming-based or non-programming-based—produce divergent organizational impacts (third-level divide).