Emailing the Boss: Cultural Implications of Media Choice

Abstract

This paper applies Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory in different countries where the significance of media is uniquely shaped by the culture. In particular, we focus on whether Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory hold for communication between subordinates and supervisors in different cultures. To test this hypothesis, a comparative cross-cultural field study with knowledge workers (n=120) in the telecommunication industry in the United States and South Korea was conducted. This study demonstrates that country, task equivocality, and communication direction are the factors that affect individuals' media choice. Communication direction was found to be the strongest factor influencing media choice for Korean employees, whereas task equivocality was the dominant factor influencing media choice for US employees. This study also demonstrates the influence of national culture on media choice among US and Korean employees. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.