How information technology influences organizational communication: the mediating role of organizational structure

Abstract

PurposeThe study is interested in knowing “the role of the organizational structure as a mediating variable of the relationship between the information technology and organizational communication”.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in several service companies, and the study adopted the questionnaire as a basic tool for the data collection on the practical side, as 267 opinions were surveyed, in addition to conducting personal interviews, and the normal distribution of data was tested, analyzing, describing and diagnosing study variables, testing correlations and determining direct effects.FindingsFindings show that there is no direct and significant statistical impact of information technology on organizational communications. Whereas there was a positive, direct and statistically significant impact of information technology on the organizational structure. There was also a positive, direct and statistically significant effect of the organizational structure on organizational communication.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is restricted to the role of the organizational structure as a mediating variable of the relationship between the influence of information technology on organizational communication.Practical implicationsAs part of the practical implication, the paper suggests the need to increase support and attention to the importance of information technology in service organizations in order to increase coordination and organizational communication and achieve a high ability to explore and exploit ideas.Originality/valueApart from the fact that several companies were engaged, the organizational structures of these companies were engaged too to examine the impacts of Information technology (ICT) on organizational communication.