WhatsApp Emoji in Business Interactions: The Case of Malaysian and Iranian Interactions

Abstract

WhatsApp emoji has been widely used by users all over the world especially entrepreneurs during their business interactions. In these interactions, WhatsApp emoji has been discovered to be intriguing. Emoji, among other things, were used to replace non-verbal expressions in face-to-face interactions especially during business communications. However, studies related to the usage of WhatsApp emoji in business interactions were found to be limited, particularly in the Malaysian setting. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine the use of WhatsApp emoji in business communications between a Malaysian entrepreneur and three Iranian counterparts. Content Analysis was used to interpret the messages in the business conversations, and the data was analysed using De Vito's Five-Stage Model of Conversation. The findings revealed that WhatsApp emoji performed a range of functions in business interactions in a BELF setting. In short, WhatsApp has clearly added some useful and valuable features for a variety of uses, including business communications.