JCMC 6 (1) September 2000
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Functional Work Groups and Evaluations of Communication Channels: Comparisons of Six Competing Theoretical Perspectives
College of Communications and Information Studies
University of Kentucky
Hui-Jung Chang
Institute of Communications Management
National Sun Yat-sen University
Susan Pobocik
Department of Communication
Michigan State University
Caroline Ethington
Department of Communication
Michigan State University
Diane Ruesch
Cancer Information Service
Office of Cancer Communication
Jean Wooldridge
Cancer Information Service
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Acknowledgments
- References
- About the Authors
Abstract
This paper examines perceptions of three different communication channels (written, interpersonal, and e-mail) in a new organizational form, from six perspectives: social information processing, decision making, cost minimization, social presence, uncertainty reduction, and appraisal. In this study three functional groups within the Cancer Information Service (CIS) were examined: Project Directors (N=11), Outreach Coordinators (N=16), and Telephone Service Managers (N=17). The results indicated that there were few significant differences between these functional groupings. While there were clear differences between theoretical perspectives, the specific functional role differences related to them only marginally supported our hypotheses. This study suggested that refocusing on fundamental underlying processes may be necessary at this stage in the development of the literature on channel selection in organizations.Introduction
Channel, or media, selection models in organizations have captured increasing attention (Fulk & Boyd, 1991; Markus, 1994; Rice, D’Ambra, & More, 1998; Johnson, 1996). One of the major reasons for the interest in this area is the assumption that there is an optimal match between channels and organizational tasks which will lead to more effective organizational performance (Rice, 1993; Steinfield, et al., 1987), a traditional theme in communication research (Rogers, 1962). Most of this research has focused on the technological attributes of channels, especially the cutting edge electronic channels, which have received such labels as the 'new media' (e.g., Dennis & Kinney, 1998; Rice & Associates, 1984; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). As a result of the presumed revolutionary impacts of these new information processing technologies on organizational life, several major theoretical approaches have emerged to explain the underlying bases for channel selection.Increasingly, research in the arena of channel selection falls into two competing camps (Markus, 1994; Rice, 1993), one focusing on the characteristics of the media themselves (Daft & Lengel, 1986), and the other focusing on the social context of communication (Fulk et al., 1987). However, other alternative approaches are emerging and there is an increasing need for meta organizing schemes for this research (e.g., see Heeter, 1989; Rice, 1989 for functional classification systems). One major shortcoming of most prior research is that it focuses on the selection processes of senders of communication messages, almost totally ignoring receivers (Sitkin, Sutcliffe, & Barrios-Chaplin, 1992).
In this paper we will systematically compare six major competing approaches, social information processing, decision making, cost minimization, social presence, uncertainty reduction, and appraisal, to explaining channel selection from the receiver's perspective for three different functional groupings. Further, we will examine these issues in an innovative organizational form, the Cancer Information Service (CIS), which paradoxically was only made possible because of the presence of new electronic media, but which also needs heightened levels of interpersonal communication to accomplish integration.
Table 1 organizes the six competing approaches by level or communication as a process, and by the formality of the communication. Issues of level of analysis are central in communication (Berger & Chaffee, 1987; Rousseau, 1985) and organizational research (Danserau & Markham, 1987). They are generally similar to the familiar contexts (e.g., interpersonal, small group, whole organization) within which communication is embedded and can be contrasted with research based on processes (e.g., conflict, persuasion, decision making) that can be found in a variety of different contexts (Littlejohn, 1992).
The CIS's primary activities focus on providing information about cancer
and cancer-related resources to the public, primarily through a telephone
service and various outreach activities (Morra et al., 1993). Established
in 1975, it was one of the first federally-funded health-related telephone
information systems in the nation (Marcus et al., 1993). The CIS is not
a formal organization in the conventional sense, nor is it an interorganizational
network. It is a new organizational form, which, while incorporating many
of the features of organizational forms previously identified in the literature,
has its own idiosyncratic combination of characteristics. Table 2 presents
the goals and objectives of the CIS.
A considerable literature has developed related to new organizational forms (Romanelli, 1991), especially the proliferation of new types of quasi-forms associated with more complex interorganizational relationships (Ring & Van de Ven, 1994; Schopler, 1987). Examples of differing types of interorganizational relationships abound: trade associations, agency federations, joint ventures, social service joint programs, corporate-financial interlocks, agency-sponsor linkages (Oliver, 1990), hybrid arrangements (Borys & Jemison, 1989), franchises, strategic alliances, research consortia, network organizations (Ring & Van de Ven, 1994), and quasi-firms (Luke, Begun, & Pointer, 1989). A major subarea of this literature relates to health organizations (Arnold & Hink, 1968; Farace et al., 1982; Luke, et al., 1989). A host of environmental factors are contributing to the development of new organizational forms: concerns about personnel costs (e.g., pensions, health costs); external pressures to keep the number of members on their permanent staff low; uncertainty reduction; need to pool knowledge and information or to create it in the case of R & D firms; and affiliation (e.g., with a more credible national organization).
The relationships between the Office of Cancer Communications (OCC) staff charged with oversight of the CIS and the regional offices can be couched in terms of the classic relationship between headquarters and subsidiary units in multinational corporations (Pahl & Roth, 1993). Luke et al. (1989) have described the pressures for increased integration and formalization as 'implosive' within new organizational forms and the countervailing pressures for them to disintegrate as 'explosive.' There is an increasing need to develop new theories and fresh perspectives based on empirical data of the operation of these new organizational forms (Luke et al., 1989), particularly concerning the nature of the communication channels needed to maintain them. Because of geographic dispersion, day-to-day communication is mediated, although some of it is more interpersonal (e.g., by telephone) than others, reflecting the powerful role of distance in determining choices of communication channels (Finn & Lane, 1998). Indeed, all things considered, the CIS is in many ways a precursor of the emerging modern organization.
Perhaps the best label for the new organizational form represented by
the CIS is 'contractual network'. The most distinctive characteristics
of the CIS is its geographic dispersion across 19 regional offices serving
the entire U. S. (Morra et al., 1993). The unique character of the CIS
becomes apparent when you contrast it to more conventional organizational
forms, because, even though the Regional Offices are formally members of
other organizations, the CIS network itself has many of the characteristics
of unitary organizations, with centrally determined goals, a formal bureaucratic
structure of authority, a division of labor, formal plans for coordination
(e.g., distributing overflow calls), a high normative commitment to providing
service to callers, and targeted outreach activities to priority audiences.
Performance standards are set nationally and are monitored by an extensive
formal evaluation effort (Kessler et al., 1993). However, important personnel
issues such as salaries and fringe benefits are determined at the regional
office level.
Functional Roles in the CIS
It has been suggested that perceptions of channels should vary with functional role in the organization, because particular positions have media associated with job performance and because members of a particular profession may come to develop similar norms of media usage (Rice, 1993; Rice & Aydin, 1991; Markus, 1994). For example, higher level organizational positions typically focus more on uncertainty reduction and thus use more interpersonally-oriented channels (Rice & Shook, 1990; Daft & Lengel, 1986; Pondy & Mitroff, 1979; Sullivan, 1995). Indeed, in a meta-analysis of over 40 studies, Rice and Shook (1990) found that usage of media was different for management versus others and was highly correlated with organizational level. Rather than focus on all communication channels, we have chosen three that are particularly important to the CIS and that represent different issues on a continuum. From a media richness perspective, from richest to leanest, the following continuum of channels is examined in this paper: interpersonal (primarily telephone because of the geographic dispersion of the CIS), e-mail, and written (Schmitz & Fulk, 1991; Trevino et al., 1990).
The major functional roles in each of the regional offices we will focus on here, Project Directors (PD), Telephone Service Managers (TSM), and Outreach Coordinators (OC), differ both in their position requirements and in their organizational status level, with PDs having higher status than the Telephone Service Managers and the Outreach Coordinators (Morra et al., 1993). High status persons may also have more access to an array of channels, while persons of lower status are systematically deprived of access (Morris, 1988). While it has been argued that the use of electronic mail and other mediated communication could serve to mask status differences and thereby promote the free flow of ideas and information in organizations, empirical work related to health professionals has tended to show that status differences do affect communication and their effects become more pronounced with continued use of a new technology (Saunders, Robey, & Vaverek, 1994).
PDs are the day-to-day managers for the regional CIS offices. Most of them possess a master's degree in public health, social work, education, or the arts. Like other higher level managers, Project Directors increasingly rely on personal contacts to perform their work, with a portion of their time spent using interpersonal channels to coordinate work with OCC, other regional offices, or their local cancer centers (Johnson et al., 1994b). Their training in the helping professions also favorably predisposes them to interpersonal channels.
Telephone Service Managers are in charge of managing the telephone service and the referral resources. They supervise information specialists who directly serve callers. All of them possess a nursing degree or a bachelor's degree (Morra et al., 1993). They are responsible for the day-to-day management of the telephone service, including quality assurance. They utilize more formal channels of communication such as memos, letters, and e-mail (Johnson et al., 1994b). TSM's, because of their control functions in the implementation of formal procedures, rely primarily on written channels, but for breaking advances in cancer control research they also utilize e-mail and interpersonal contacts. Telephone Service Managers enforce very specific rules and procedure; therefore, they should be more predisposed to written channels than the other two groups. Written channels allow them to overcome ambiguity and provide them with the authoritative information from OCC that they pass on to the public.
Outreach Coordinators are responsible for disseminating health messages through networking with other organizations such as local American Cancer Societies, state health departments, and so on. All possess a bachelor's degree and some have a master's degree in public health education, social work, or communication (Morra et al., 1993). Their primary activities are directed at developing relationships with community organizations, sharing their expertise in the development of communication programs.
At the time data was collected there was generally one computer shared in each Regional Office devoted to the FTS-2000 e-mail system. The Project Directors and Telephone Service Managers used this channel the most often because they had more access and occasion to use it. Project Directors rely on e-mail for operational and coordination matters and Telephone Service Managers are often alerted to breaking news stories which may stimulate calls to the CIS through FTS-2000 e-mail. Outreach Coordinators often do not have easy access to e-mail because they are frequently off-site, traveling to intermediary organizations. In summary, it is expected:
H1: There will be differences in evaluation of communication channels related to functional roles within the CIS, specifically:
H1a: PD's will be more favorably disposed to interpersonal channels than will either OC's or TSMs.H1b: TSM's will be the more favorably disposed to written channels than will either PD'S or OC's.
H1c: OC's will be the functional group least favorably disposed to e-mail.
Competing Theoretic Approaches
An organization's communication structure consists of formal and informal
elements, as well as other ingredients, and is not reducible to either
(March & Simon, 1958). However, to most organizational researchers
this fundamental distinction captures two different worlds within the organization,
worlds that have different premises and outlooks and most importantly,
different fundamental assumptions about the nature of interaction (Allen,
1977; Dow, 1988). The tension between these two dimensions is increasingly
important to the operation of newer organizational forms and the lives
of individuals within them (Johnson, et al., 1998). Since this distinction
is so fundamental, we will first organize our discussion of competing perspectives
on communication channels by those which are more formal in character,
and then we will discuss more informal approaches.
Formal Approaches
Early approaches to studying communication structure in organizations concentrated on the organizational chart and the flow of messages vertically and horizontally within it. The formal organizational chart is embedded in the assumptions of the classical approach to rational management (Astley & Zajac, 1991; Morgan, 1986). Typically formal approaches focus on the configurations resulting from the following characteristics of structure: formal authority relationships represented in the organizational hierarchy (Dow, 1988; Jablin, 1987); differentiation of labor into specialized tasks often represented by defined work groups (Dow, 1988; Jablin, 1987); and formal mechanisms for coordination of work among these tasks (Dow, 1988). These characteristics, along with the notion of goal or purpose, have been seen by some to represent the very essence of what an organization is (Schein, 1965). Formal factors may be especially important for a contractor embededded within a federal government bureaucracy (Johnson, et al., 1998).
Social Information Processing. One competing school for explaining channel selection is the social information processing approach, which shares many assumptions with cultural approaches, but most closely follows the work of Salancik and Pfeffer focusing on formal work groups (1977, 1978). (See Table 3 for a comparison of all of these approaches along several key dimensions.) Here we will make the simplifying assumption that there is one dominant culture in this organization, represented by management, and that this culture is reified in the formal structure of the organization (Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Peters & Waterman, 1982; Johnson, 1993). The key tenet of a social information processing approach is that workers jointly construct their own interpretations of the work place and that an individual's social environment affects media selection (Karahama & Straub, 1999; Minsky & Marin, 1999; Schmitz & Fulk, 1991; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). Some have also argued that channels should be classified by their symbol carrying capacity as well as by their ability to carry data related to work (Sitkin et al., 1992). These effects appeared to be heightened by the level of attraction of members to their formal work groups (Fulk, 1993). Because of their frequent interaction with others on the strategic and operational direction of the CIS it would be expected that this perspective most closely relates to the functions of PDs in the CIS.
Decision Making. Another general approach to examining media
selection has been to evaluate the appropriateness of the media for central
organizational tasks such as gathering the information needed for decision
making (Rice, 1993). This general approach has much in common with uses
and gratifications research which is based on the following set of assumptions
(Katz et al., 1973; Rubin, 1986; Tan, 1985): first, media use is goal directed;
second, receivers select differing media to fulfill felt needs; third,
individuals initiate media selection; fourth, there are multiple sources
of needs satisfaction and any one communication channel must compete with
other channels for satisfaction of individual needs. Operationally, on
a day-to-day basis, TSMs are most concerned with gathering information
that changes the manner in which the CIS operates.
Cost Minimization. In general, the communication literature has focused only in passing on factors underlying channel selection which relate to the accomplishment of pragmatic organizational goals such as cost effectiveness, accessibility, timeliness, development of appropriate information infrastructures, and productivity. However, differing media can be categorized by their ability to overcome situational constraints such as time, spatial factors, permanence of records, and so on (Rice & Shook, 1990).
Reinsch and Beswick (1990) have developed a systematic approach to cost
minimization with research focusing on voice mail in an organizational
setting. Based on prior work by Marschak (1968), they argue there are three
areas in which organizational members might analyze costs and associated
probabilities of use: access, errors, and delays. Access costs relate to
the actual dollar cost of channel use, a factor seldom included explicitly
in academic discussions in the communication literature. Relatedly, effort
costs can be associated with such factors as the amount of physical space
between two potential interactants (Conrath, 1973; Dutton et al., 1982;
Hiltz & Kerr, 1980; Klauss & Bass, 1982; Trevino, Lengel, &
Daft, 1987), familiarity with technology (Steinfield et al. 1987), length
of message, and complexity (Daft & Lengel, 1984). Error costs reflect
possibilities of discrepancies in signals. Blame can be attached to the
user of any medium which results in these discrepancies. Relatedly, a medium's
capacity to produce documentation may be important for its selection. A
preference for avoiding blame can result in preferences for media which
promote the delivery of messages even in asynchronous situations and with
multiple channels, since they enhance the likelihood that the intended
party will receive a message. TSMs occupy the role most concerned with
classic issues of efficiency in the CIS.
Informal Approaches
Informal approaches recognize that a variety of needs, including social ones, underlie communication in organizations and that, as a result, the actual communication relationships in an organization may be less rational than formal systems (Johnson, 1993). Informal structures function to facilitate communication, maintain cohesiveness in the organization as a whole, and maintain a sense of personal integrity or autonomy (Smelser, 1963).
Social Presence. Because face-to-face communication uses all of the senses, has immediate feedback, and is more spontaneous, it has become the 'standard' against which other channels are evaluated (Durlak, 1987). This emphasis on face-to-face communication is related to the notion of social presence of a particular medium. Social presence refers to the degree to which a channel approximates the personal characteristics of face-to-face interaction (Durlak, 1987) and has its roots in the work of Short, Williams and Christie (1976) on teleconferencing. Social presence approaches generally argue that mediated channels filter out nonverbal cues that make more salient the presence of other interactants (Bordia, 1997; Karahanna & Straub, 1999; Walther, 1994). Social presence has been found to predict the perceived utility of media by managers (Ruchinskas, 1983) and it is generally accepted that people will be most receptive to communication channels that reveal the presence of others (Sullivan, 1995). Outreach Coordinators rely most on personal, face-to-face contacts in the performance of their work.
Uncertainty Reduction. Researchers concerned with technological impacts on communication have come to classify both social presence arguments and media richness as two representatives of the media characteristics school (Fulk, et al., 1987; Steinfield, Jin, & Ku, 1987). These approaches argue that individuals make rational decisions concerning the most appropriate medium for any one particular communication task (Fulk, Steinfield, Schmitz, & Power, 1987). Media richness approaches argue that the information processing requirements of individuals are a function of equivocality and/or uncertainty, terms that are frequently used interchangeably in the literature. As equivocality increases, more personal, 'rich' forms of communication are sought to substitute for more impersonal modes (Daft & Lengel, 1986; Lengel & Daft, 1988). In general, it has been argued that complex, non-routine tasks require more information processing than simple, routine tasks (Daft & Macintosh, 1981). As task uncertainty increases, more personal, 'rich' forms of communication substitute for more impersonal modes (Carlson & Davis, 1998; Hiemstra, 1982; Picot, Klingenberg, & Kranzle, 1982; Rice et al., 1998; Van de Ven, Delbecq, & Koenig, 1976).
Communication media or channels differ in their inherent capacity to process rich information. "Information richness is defined as the ability of information to change understanding within a time interval" (Daft & Lengel, 1986, pp. 560). Thus, media of low richness (e.g., impersonal written documents) are effective for processing well-understood messages and standardized data, while media of high richness (e.g., face-to-face meetings) are necessary to process information high in equivocality and uncertainty. So, individuals will ultimately choose channels which match the level of uncertainty reduction they feel is required in any one information processing task (Sitkin, et al., 1992). If a problem is extremely complex, then face-to-face discussions may be the only way to address it. If it is relatively simple, then a written memorandum may be the appropriate choice. PD's have the most equivocal managerial function within the CIS.
Appraisal. The characteristics examined here are drawn from a model of Media Exposure and Appraisal (MEA) that has been tested on a variety of channels and in a variety of international settings (Johnson & Meischke, 1993; Johnson et al., 1995). This model suggests that receiver appraisals predict media usage. Appraisal factors, such as editorial tone and communication potential, primarily relate to message content attributes. Editorial tone reflects a person's perception of the credibility and intentions of a source. If people perceive that a source has motives other than the mere provision of information, then this will weigh heavily in their exposure decisions. Credibility and trustworthiness have been argued to be important source characteristics in communication processes related to anticipatory socialization (Jablin, 1987) and the upward flow of information in organizations (Glauser, 1984).
Communication potential, the other dimension examined in prior research, refers to an individual's perception of the manner in which information is presented. This dimension relates to issues of style and comprehension. For example, is an article in a company newsletter visually stimulating and well written? Comprehension has been found to be a critical factor in determining the selection of technical reading material by engineers (Allen, 1977). TSM's are the most concerned of the functional roles with the job of communicating authoritative information to the lay public.
In sum, although empirical research directly comparing these contrasting perspectives is relatively slight, the few studies which have been conducted have not been unequivocally supportive of any of the above positions (e.g., Contractor, Siebold, & Heller, 1996; Fulk & Boyd, 1991; Marinsky & Maria, 1999; Markus, 1994; Rice, 1993; Rice, et al., 1990). Media richness perspectives have often been faced with contradictory findings in empirical research, in part attributable to the unexpected impacts of new media of communication (Fulk & Boyd, 1991). Steinfield et al. (1987), in reviewing the literature on social presence, have found some moderate support in laboratory contexts, but, in general, they found that social presence only accounts for a small proportion of the variance in media behavior. Social information processing has also been subject to contradictory empirical findings (Rice & Aydin, 1991; Rice, et al., 1992). Theoretical work is still evolving in this area, demonstrating a commendable capacity to incorporate new research findings and theoretical arguments (e.g., Bordia, 1997; Trevino et al., 1988) with recent arguments that these different theoretical perspectives are complementary rather than competing (Webster & Trevino, 1995). In this research we will compare these perspectives systematically for three different channels and three different functional roles in an unique organization which can be viewed as the forerunner of the prototypic modern organization. A focus on functional roles may help us to sort out the conflicting findings in the literature, as we can assume that the differing perspectives might systematically differ across different clusters of job requirements.
H2: There will be differences in how persons occupying functional roles
evaluate the competing perspectives, specifically:
H2a: PD's will be the most highly rated functional group for SIP approaches.H2b: TSMs will be the most highly rated functional group on decision making approaches.
H2c: TSMs will be the most highly rated functional group on cost minimization.
H2d: OCs will be the most highly rated functional group on social presence.
H2e: PD's will be the most highly rated functional group on uncertainty reduction perspectives.
H2f: TSMS will be the most highly rated functional group on appraisal perspectives.
Methods
The research reported here was conducted on a confederation of organizations composed of contractors who provided services to a federal government agency. It was part of a much larger project designed to evaluate the impact of three planned innovations over a four year period (see Johnson et al., 1994a for a much more complete discussion of methods and design issues). As part of the November 1993 recurring quarterly data collection, associated with this larger project, a package was sent to respondents with a battery of questions relating to perceptions of communication channels. To ensure completion, the self-report questionnaires were mailed to the respondents approximately ten days prior to the sample time period. A personalized letter explained the issues that would be examined and urged participation in the project. At the same time, an e-mail was sent to all participants to notify them that they would be receiving the questionnaires in the mail shortly. A second e-mail was sent the day before the sample time period, reminding participants that they should begin recording their communication contacts for the next three days. A third e-mail was sent the day after the sample time period was concluded, to remind participants to return their questionnaires in the stamped, self-addressed envelope provided. Many follow-up steps (e.g., letters, faxes, e-mails) recommended in the literature (e.g., Dillman, 1978, 1991) were taken in these recurring data collections (see Johnson et al., 1994a, for more details). Through these extensive follow up efforts, we achieved a very satisfactory response rate (95%).Measurement
All psychometric scales were based on eleven point Likert-type items from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates total disagreement and 10 indicates total agreement. The procedure by which self-report questionnaires were developed followed the stages suggested by Devellis (1991). (For more detail see Johnson et al., 1994a). Questions for each of the scales were developed based on items derived from prior empirical work (Fulk et al., 1988; Johnson & Meischke, 1993; Johnson et al., 1995; Rice, 1993) and the academic literature reviewed earlier.
Actual question wordings and standardized alphas are reported for all
scales in Table 4. The reliability for each scale was as follows: the social
information processing scale (5 items, alpha = .80 for written, .71 for
interpersonal, and .87 for FTS-2000); the decision making scale (2 items,
alpha =.53 for written, .78 for interpersonal, and .48 for FTS-2000); the
cost minimization scale (4 items, alpha = .69 for written, .80 for interpersonal,
and .78 for FTS-2000); the social presence scale (5 items, alpha = .72
for written, .72 for interpersonal, and .88 for FTS-2000); the uncertainty
reduction scale (4 items, alpha = .84 for written, .86 for interpersonal,
and .93 for FTS-2000); the appraisal scale (3 items, alpha = .66 for written,
.63 for interpersonal, and .83 for FTS-2000).
Analysis
MANOVAs were performed to test the hypotheses related to the three functional
groups, three channels, and six theoretical perspectives (Bray & Maxwell,
1990). A priori contrasts were assessed to test the sets of sub-hypotheses.
The contrast coefficients were weighted differeingly by each sub hypothesis.
For H1a, for example, which predicted that PDs had the higher score than
OCs and TSMS, the coeffcients were set at 1, -.5, and -.5 for PDs, OCs,
and TSMs respectively.
Results
The cell means and standard deviations for the MANOVA analyses on
communication channels and functional roles are reported in Table 5. The
MANOVA revealed one significant main effect for channels (F = 24.01,
df = 2, p < .05), but not for functional roles (F = 1.38,
df = 2, p > .05). No interaction effect between functional roles
and communication channels was detected by MANOVA (F = .46, df =
4, p > .05).
Contrary to H1, there was no significant main effect for functional roles. The contrast test (coefficients were set at 1, -.5, and -.5 for PDs, OCs, and TSMs respectively) revealed that contrary to H1a, all the groups had a similarly greater preference for interpersonal channels (t= .439, p> .05); from the MANOVA results (Table 5), PD's (mean=6.92) gave a higher evaluation to written channels than TSMs (mean = 6.31), rejecting H1b. For H1c, the contrast test (coefficients were set at -.5, 1, and -.5 for PDs, OCs, and TSMs respectively) revealed that contrary to H1c, the contrast test revealed that all the groups had a similarly strong preference for email channels (t= -1.165, p> .05), although the MANOVA results revealed that OC's (mean = 5.87) were the least favorably disposed to e-mail (Table5).
The cell means and standard deviations for the MANOVA analyses on theoretical perspectives and functional role are reported in Table 6. The MANOVA revealed one significant main effect for theroretical perspectives (F = 19.18, df = 2, p < .05), but not for functional groups (F = 1.38, df = 2, p > .05). No interaction effect between functional groups and theoretical perspectives was detected by MANOVA (F = 1.40, df = 10, p > .05), contrary to H2.
The MANOVA results (Table 6) showed that PDs gave higher evaluations than the other two groups to decision making, cost minimization , social presence and apprasal respectively. Thus, H2b, H2c, H2d, and H2f were rejected. No a priori tests need to be performed. For H2a, which predicted that PDs had the higher score on social information processing, the contrast test (coefficients were set at 1, -.5, and -.5 for PDs, OCs, and TSMs respectively) found no significant differences between functional groups (t= 1.523, p> .05). In support of H2e, which predicted that PDs had the highest score on uncertainty reduction, the contrast test (coefficients were set at 1, -.5, and -.5 for PDs, OCs, and TSMs respectively) revealed significant differences between functional groups (t= 2.411, p < .05).
Discussion
It is clear from the pattern of the results that functional roles within the CIS did not play the role we expected. Needless to say, this overall pattern of findings is surprising given the general pattern found in the literature of differences in the evaluation of channels across functional roles. Especially interesting is the clear lack of support for role differences coupled with the relatively high overall evaluation for social information processing, which presumably would be the perspective most likely to result in group differences. (But it might reflect our earlier simplifying assumption of one dominant cultural perspective that cuts across functional groups). As Rice and Aydin (1991) have suggested, this perspective needs to be much more specific in predicting what groups are likely to have particular effects on their members' perceptions.These findings are also surprising given the relatively clear pattern
of differences in evaluations for the contrasting perspectives and the
differential evaluations across channels. Most noteworthy was a clear pattern
of results, especially related to the lack of support for H2b and H2c,
that indicated decision making and cost minimization were more closely
tied to PD roles than to TSMs. This could reflect status issues in this
organization and their association with the implementation of the formal
rules associated with the contract with NCI that are a primary function
of Project Directors. Given the formality of this new organizational form,
and its adherence to official rules and procedures, it is interesting that
interpersonal channels are clearly preferred. Supporting the underlying
thrust of a social presence perspective, in spite of the geographic dispersion
and formalization of the CIS, interpersonal communication was still obviously
the 'gold standard' for this organization.
Limitations of This Study
Several factors may account for this overall pattern of findings. Often differences in results in this area can be attributed to research methodology, with laboratory research uncovering fewer status differentials in communication than field research with electronic media, for example (Saunders, Robey, & Vaverek, 1994). Several other methodological issues may have affected the results in this particular study. First, in general, not much attention has been devoted to developing comprehensive scales which have acceptable measurement properties. As a result, we had to engage in a significant amount of scale development for this study, with somewhat mixed results, especially for the decision making scale. Research in this area would benefit from improved measurement (Rice, 1993). However, a major limitation on scale development is the important role that context plays in channel selection (Markus, 1994). Second, in spite of the overall non-significance of the social information processing findings, an examination of the Bartlett tests for the homogeneity of variance indicated some within group differences, especially for Outreach Coordinators. Since this role was formalized in the new five year contract within the CIS, and the time period in which this study was conducted was within the first several months that role occupants had been hired, this group may have not yet reached stable perceptions. The relatively high variances may have accounted for the lack of significant differences and suggested that there are other variables which may be causing variations in people's evaluation of these channels. Third, while we achieved close to a census of all organizational members in these roles, the number of subjects is still relatively small, and because of the pattern of missing values, the cell sizes were somewhat unbalanced. The few significant findings we report here should be treated as indicative of trends but not conclusive.
Moreover, the data were collected at the end of 1993, when the environment
for information technogy was less mature and the technology per se was
less stable. Still, there were significant differences in the evaluations
for the three communication channels examined here. Now that computer-mediated
communication has been incorporated into the routines of most workplaces,
we might expect greater differences in evaluation between functional roles
that were obtained for the present data set.
New Organizational Forms
The unique organizational form of the CIS might weaken what would appear to be on its face relatively sharp differences in functions for the three positions examined here. It may be the case that geographic dispersion (Hartman & Johnson, 1990), coupled with multiple organizational memberships (e.g., formal employment relationships with local cancer centers, local cultures) produces a stronger identification with regional offices than with functional groupings. This might also account for the relatively high variability within groups and the overall similarity in ratings of channels. However, Johnson et al. (1998) found clear functional differences in the reaction of CIS members to a variety of information technologies.
In addition, the unique nature of channels in this organization might create some differences in results from prior research. Often corporate management has imposed rules on the use of electronic media which ensure that it more closely follows hierarchical structures, reversing what organizational members often consider to be very valuable access to a variety of information sources (Saunders, Robey, & Vaverek, 1994). As in many other organizations in this time period (Markus, 1994), FTS-2000 e-mail, which by contract had to be downloaded twice each day in the regional offices, was accessible only through one terminal in most offices, which were also used for other, often more pressing purposes (Wooldridge et al., 1993). The level of computerization of the various offices also differed substantially, with some offices having LAN systems which somewhat ameliorated this problem. In addition, some OCs were located in other states within their regions and had no real access to this e-mail system. As a result, evaluations for the FTS-2000 e-mail channel were very low, with many individual items having modal responses of 0 (Johnson et al., 1994a). These reactions may have been affected by relative lack of experience with e-mail, a factor that has been found to affect perceptions of channels (Carlson & Zmud, 1999; Ghorab, 1997; Igbaria, Zinatelli, Cragg, & Cavaye, 1997). Some members of the CIS, because of these various difficulties, turned to public carrier e-mail systems (e.g., Prodigy, Compuserve). A cost minimization perspective might suggest that individuals would generally prefer e-mail, particularly in the geographically dispersed situation of the CIS. Similar to other findings, the Office of Cancer Communications staff could employ e-mail, even though it is a lean medium, because of the high volume of messages it enabled them to send efficiently (Schmitz, 1988; Markus, 1994). This points out the clear differences between the channel selection process of managers and the evaluations of receivers, which highlights the need to look at these processes from the perspectives of both parties. While it could be argued that changes in technologies such as those associated with e-mail can make research studies obsolete (like computers) the minute the data is gathered, a focus on deeper theoretic issues such as the ones examined here, decreases this concern to a certain extent (Finn & Lane, 1998). Research in this area must be driven by theory, not technology (Finn & Lane, 1998). The CIS itself is ever changing, quickly adopting new information technologies better suited to the accomplishment of its underlying purposes (Johnson et al., 1998).
All of this suggests that other organizing schemes or approaches to
this area might be strategically more useful than a studies of channels
per se (e.g., Finn & Lane, 1998), which seem to proliferate in increasing
confusion every year. A focus on underlying processes, such as equivocality,
which was the original impetus for the Daft and Lengel (1986) work which
stimulated much of the interest in this area; or a focus on how perceptions
of channels are formed (Carlson & Zmud, 1999); or a focus on information
seeking (e.g., Johnson, 1997) might be more fruitful at this particular
juncture, especially if we broaden our scope to include users of information
in organizations, as well as disseminators of messages.
Research supported by: Subcontract No. 737-4241 from the AMC Cancer
Research Center for P01 CA57586-01A1 grant from the National Cancer Institute.
The conclusions reached in this paper are solely those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Cancer Institute or
the AMC Cancer Research Center.
We would like to thank the following CIS offices which participated
in the data collection:
Region 1: (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) CIS at Yale Cancer Center
In addition, we would like to thank the Office of Cancer Communication/National
Cancer Institute project staff who participated in the November 1993 data
collection.
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Hui-Jung Chang (Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1996) is Assistant
Professor of the Institute of Communications Management at the National
Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan. Currently her research focuses on boundary
spanning communication, organizational media usages, media management and
public relations.
Susan Pobocik is an Instructor at Lansing Community College.
Caroline Ethington received her M.A. in Communication at Michigan State
University in 1996.
Diane Ruesch is a Contract Officer for the Cancer Information Service,
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Jean Wooldridge is Project Director, Cancer Information Service, Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Res. Cntr.
©Copyright 2000 Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Conclusion
Acknowledgments
A prior version of this paper was presented to the Organizational Communication
Division at the Speech Communication Association annual convention held
in San Antonio, TX, 1995.
Region 2: (NYC, Long Island, CIS at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Westchester County, NY) Center
Office of Cancer Communications
Region 3: (NY State, WestPA) CIS at Roswell Park
Cancer Institute
Region 4: (DE, NJ, EastPA) CIS at Fox Chase Cancer
Center
Region 5: (D.C., MD, NorthVA) CIS at Johns Hopkins
University Oncology Center
Region 6: (GA, NC, SC) CIS at Duke Comprehensive
Cancer Center
Region 7: (FL, PR) CIS at Sylvester Cancer
Center
Region 8: (AL, LA, MS) CIS at University
of Alabama at Birmingham
Region 9: (AR, KY, TN) CIS at Markey
Cancer Center
Region 10: (OH, WV, SouthVA) CIS at Mary Babb Randolph
Cancer Center
Region 11: (WI, IA, MN, ND, SD) CIS at University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center
Region 12: (MI, IN) CIS at Barbara Ann
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Region 13: (IL, KS, MO, NE) CIS at University of
Kansas Medical Center
Region 14: (OK, TX) CIS at M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center
Region 15: (AK, NorthID, MT, OR, WA) CIS at Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center
Region 16: (AZ, CO, SouthID, NM, UT, CIS at Penrose St. Francis Healthcare System
Region 17: (NorthCA, NV) CIS at Northern California
Cancer Center
Region 18: (SouthCA) CIS at Jonsson Comprehensive
Cancer Center/UCLA
Region 19: (HI) CIS at Cancer Research
Center of Hawaii
We would like to thank Deb Tigner for her help in preparing and mailing
the questionnaires, instituting followup procedures, and in preparing this
report. We would also like to thank Judy Berkowitz for her assistance
in the initial instrument development. We would also like to extend
thanks to the members of the Network Analysis Advisory Board for their
help throughout the many phases of the research process: Donna Cox,
Jo Beth Speyer, William Stengle, Marsha Woodworth, and Maureen McClatchey.
We would also like to thank the Publication Subcommittee of the CISRC for
their review. We would also like to thank Frank Boster and Dr. Jim
Murphy for their advice on statistical procedures, although the choices
we made in the end are ours alone.
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About the Authors
J. David Johnson (Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1978) is Professor
and Dean of the College of Communications and Information Studies at the
University of Kentucky. Currently his research focuses on organizational
communication structure, innovation, and information seeking.
Address: College of Communications and Information Studies,University
of Kentucky. 606-257-3874
Address: Institute of Communications Management, National Sun
Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 80424. 886-7-525-2000, ext.
4962.
Address: PO Box 40010, Lansing, MI 48901-7210.
Address: Cancer Information Service, Office of Cancer
Communication, National Cancer Institute,Building 31, Room 10A07, 9000
Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Address: CIS, Mailstop MP-951, 1124 Columbia Street, Seattle,
WA 98104.