CONCEPTUALISING THE CONTRIBUTION OF CHINESE SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE 'CHINA SPEED' INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

How social media in China enables a nimble innovation ecosystem is still under-researched and of value to New Product/Service Managers and Corporate Strategists, particularly for foreign firms entering the Chinese Market. As such, a conceptual ecosystem model of how Chinese social media enables 'China Speed' innovation was developed from extant literature and recent social media practices to address this gap. Results show that the integrated and dynamic nature of Social Media in China (between actors, activities and artifacts) drives nimble and rapid innovation in products and services that are tailored to the local market and audience. This model highlights that the Western theoretical conceptualisation is too granulated while the Chinese social media ecosystem integrates dynamically across the development lifecycle and advocates for a more integrated systems theoretical consideration. In practice, leveraging new social media events, such as livestream and short videos hosted by Wanghongs (cybercelebrities) with whom fans have a deeper trust relationship, to engage fans with potential customers is a key enabler in the Chinese ecosystem; the potential to develop integrated social media ecosystems outside China would have benefits to all the actors and agents in these economies. A recognition of the integrated system is vital for those involved in successful innovation and new product and service development within China.