Institutional logics of knowledge exchange via social media in the Age of AI: Chinese academics’ perspective

Nowadays, driven by AI, such as recommendation algorithms, content ranking, and automatic summaries, social media increasingly shapes how academics discover, share, and engage with knowledge. This has transformed the environment for knowledge exchange, creating new expectations for academics to be accessible, efficient, and responsible communicators. Drawing on nineteen semi-structured interviews with Chinese academics and platform representatives, this study examines the institutional logics underlying the current Chinese academic environment for knowledge exchange via social media and the strategies academics adopt in response. The study’s insights aim to prompt reflection on how AI-mediated social media platforms are reshaping academic knowledge exchange and offer practical guidance for academics to enhance public engagement in China and beyond.