Abstract
Our research provided empirical evidence about the alternative means of communication used by 25 members of a research group who had available to them: unscheduled face-to-face encounters, sheduled face-to-face meetings, electronic mail, telephone, fax, and desktop videoconferencing. The intent of our research is to learn whether there are elements in existing group communication patterns that suggest how future communication systems can be designed or selected to fit the actual work relationships of a group. A detailed social network survey provided information about what members of the group communicated about, how they communicated, and with whom they communicated. Most communication was done through a combination of media, but predominately through unscheduled encounters, electronic mail, and scheduled meetings; people rarely videoconferenced, telephoned, or faxed. Factor analysis reduced the 24 work relationships to six distinct dimensions: receiving work, giving work, collaborative writing, major emotional support, sociability, and computer programming. The proportion in which the three main media were used varied according to the nature of the work dimension. Our findings suggest that a multivariate perspective that considers group norms and practices, social networks, and work dimensions is necessary to analyze media use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, A. (1988).The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Baecker, R., ed. (1993).Readings in Groupware and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.
Bullen, C.V., and J.L. Bennett. (1990). “Learning from User Experience with Groupware.” In F. Halasz (ed.),CSCW'90: Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM Press, pp. 291–302.
Daft, R.L., and R.H. Lengel. (1986). “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness and Structural Design,”Management Science 32, 554–571.
Eveland, J.D., and T.K. Bikson. (1988). “Work Group Structures and Computer Support: A Field Experiment,”ACM Transactions on Office Information Systems 6, 354–379.
Finholt, T., and L.S. Sproull. (1990). “Electronic Groups at Work,”Organization Science 1(1), 41–64.
Fish, R.S., R.E. Kraut, R.W. Root, and R.E. Rice. (1992). “Evaluating Video as a Technology for Informal Communication.” In P. Bauersfeld, J. Bennet, and G. Lynch (eds.),Striking a Balance: CHI'92 Conference Proceedings. New York: ACM Press, pp. 37–48.
Garton, L., and B. Wellman. (1995). “The Social Impacts of Electronic Mail in Organizations: A Review of the Research Literature,”Communication Yearbook 18, 435–453.
Granovetter, M.S. (1973). “The Strength of Weak Ties,”American Journal of Sociology 78, 1360–1380.
Granovetter, M.S. (1982). “The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited.” In P.V. Marsden and N. Lin (eds.),Social Structure and Network Analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 105–130.
Haythornthwaite, C. (1992). “Communication Patterns of a Co-Located Academic Research Group.” Unpublished master's thesis, University of Toronto.
Haythornthwaite, C., B. Wellman, and M. Mantei. (1994). “Media Use and Work Relationships in a Research Group.” In J.F. Nunamaker and R.H. Sprague (eds.),Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Hawaii Conference on System Sciences. Los Alamitas, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press, pp. 94–103.
Kraut, R.E., R.S. Fish, R.W. Root, and B.L. Chalfonte. (1990). “Informal Communication in Organizations: Form, Function and Technology.” In S. Oskamp and S. Spacapan (eds.),People's Reactions to Technology: In Factories, Offices and Aerospace. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 146–199.
Mantei, M., R.M. Baecker, A.J. Sellen, W.A.S. Buxton, T. Milligan, and B. Wellman. (1991). “Experiences in the Use of a Media Space.” In S.P. Robertson, G.M. Olson, and J.S. Olson (eds.),Reaching Through Technology: CHI'91 Conference Proceedings. New York: ACM Press, pp. 203–208.
Markus, M.L. (1990). “Toward a ‘Critical Mass’ Theory of Interactive Media.’ In J. Fulk and C.W. Steinfield (eds.),Organizations and Communication Technology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 194–218.
Markus, L.M., T.K. Bikson, M. El-Shinnawy, and L.L. Soe. (1992). “Fragments of Your Communication: Email, Vmail and Fax,”The Information Society 8, 207–226.
Posner, I., and R. Baecker. (1993). “How People Write Together.” In R. Baecker (ed.),Readings in Groupware and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann, pp. 238–250.
Rice, R.E. (1984). “Mediated Group Communication.” In R.E. Rice and Associates,The New Media: Communication, Research and Technology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 129–154.
Rice, R.E. (1987). “Computer-Mediated Communication and Organizational Innovation,”Journal of Comminication 37, 65–94.
Rice, R.E. (1990). “Computer-Mediated Communication System Network Data: Theoretical Concerns and Empirical Examples,”International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 32, 627–647.
Rice, R.E. (1992). “Task Analyzability, Use of New Media and Effectiveness: A Multi-Site Exploration of Media Richness,”Organization Science 3, 475–500.
Rice, R.E. (1994). “Relating Electronic Mail Use and Network Structure to T&D Work Networks Performance,”Journal of Management Information Systems 11(1), 9–20.
Rice, R.E., A.E. Grant, J. Schmitz, and J. Torobin. (1990). “Individual and Network Influences on the Adoption and Perceived Outcomes of Electronic Messaging,”Social Networks, 12(1), 27–55.
Rice, R., and D. Shook. (1990). “Relationships of Job Categories and Organizational Levels to Use of Communication Channels, Including Electronic Mail: A Meta-Analysis and Extension,”Journal of Management Studies 27, 195–229.
Rogers, E.M., and L.M. Kincaid. (1981).Communication Networks: Toward a New Paradigm for Research. New York: The Free Press.
Scott, J. (1991).Social Network Analysis. London: Sage Publications.
Short, J., E. Williams, and B. Christie. (1976).The Social Psychology of Telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Sproull, L., and S. Kiesler. (1991).Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Steinfield, C.W. (1985). “Dimensions of Electronic Mail Use in an Organizational Setting.” In J. Pearce and R. Robinson (eds.),Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. Academy of Management, Mississippi State University, pp. 239–243.
Turner, J., and R. Kraut, (eds.) (1992).CSCW'92 Sharing Perspectives: Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. New York: ACM Press.
Wellman, B. (1988a). “The Community Question Re-evaluated.” In M.P. Smith (ed.),Power, Community and the City. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, pp. 81–107.
Wellman, B. (1988b). “Structural Analysis: From Method and Metaphor to Theory and Substance.” In B. Wellman and S.D. Berkowitz (eds.), Social Structures: A Network Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 19–61.
Wellman, B. (1992). “Which Types of Ties and Networks Given What Kinds of Social Support?” In E. Lawler, B. Markovsky, C. Ridgeway, and H. Walker (eds.),Advances in Group Processes, Vol. 9. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, pp. 207–235.
Wellman, B. (1993). “Models of Community, Models of Communication.” In C. Belisle (ed.),Communications et Nouvelle Technologies. Lyon: Editions PPSH-CNRS, pp. 373–387.
Wellman, B., P. Carrington, and A. Hall. (1988). “Networks as Personal Communities.” In B. Wellman and S.D. Berkowitz (eds.),Social Structures: A Network Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 130–184.
Wellman, B., and D. Tindall. (1993). “Reach Out and Touch Some Bodies: How Social Networks Connect Telephone Networks.” In W. Richards, Jr. and G. Barnett (eds.),Progress in Communication Sciences Vol. 12. pp. 63–93.
Wellman, B., and S. Wortley. (1990). “Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support,”American Journal of Sociology 96, 558–588.
Yin, R.K. (1981). “Life Histories of Innovations: How New Practices become Routinized,”Public Administration Review 41, 21–28.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haythornthwaite, C., Wellman, B. & Mantei, M. Work relationships and media use: A social network analysis. Group Decis Negot 4, 193–211 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01384688
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01384688