The Ecological Dynamics of Organizational Change: Density Dependence in the Rate of Weibo Adoption by Populations of News Organizations

Abstract

This study examines how ecological forces constrain the rate of Weibo adoption by organizational populations within the news media in China. Organizational adoption of Weibo is conceived of as a process of organizational entries into Weibo space. Based on an archival source that covers the names of all news organizations operating in China, the present study identified 1,552 newspapers, broadcast networks, or news websites adopting Weibo at least once between August 2009 and December 2015. The results show that population density in both the intrapopulation and the interpopulation can significantly influence the rate of Weibo adoption by news organizations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.