Social Media Usage and International Performance: The Mediating Role of Open Innovation in Chinese Cross-Border E-Commerce SMEs

Abstract

Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has emerged as a major pathway for the internationalization of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and firms increasingly use social media to reach foreign customers, sense demand, and provide service. However, the pathway by which social media usage translates into superior performance in foreign markets remains unclear. This study tests whether open innovation mediates the relationship between social media usage and international performance among export-oriented SMEs in Yiwu, Zhejiang. A multi-wave field survey produced 289 valid firm-level responses. Established multi-item Likert scales measured social media usage across marketing, customer relations and service, and information accessibility; open innovation as inbound and outbound open innovation; and international performance with a multi-indicator scale. Measurement quality was verified through internal consistency checks and standard validity diagnostics. The analysis combined multiple regression with a bootstrapped mediation model based on 5,000 resamples. Results show that social media usage is positively related to international performance and that open innovation partially mediates this relationship. At the subdimension level, customer relations and service and information accessibility exhibit significant indirect effects through both inbound and outbound open innovation routines, whereas marketing does not display a non- significant mediated effect. Managers should channel social media activity into inbound knowledge sourcing and outbound commercialization routines, prioritizing customer service and information accessibility rather than marketing communication alone. Policymakers can support these routines by expanding knowledge-exchange platforms, providing intellectual property and compliance services, partner matchmaking, and training in data tools, thereby helping SMEs convert open innovation into measurable gains in international performance.