Media Choice/Use in Organizations

Abstract

Communication options in organizations have expanded considerably in the past 50 years. Whether these options are called media choice/use, information and communication technology ( ICT ) choice and use, or computer mediated communication, reaching others is filled with choices. This entry traces the evolution of organizational media selection theories and presents them in three theoretical waves of thinking. The first wave sets the foundation for understanding that communication media have the ability to convey different meaning – in the form of media richness or social presence – and, thus, matching task with media is prudent. The second wave introduces social influence models and discusses how environmental factors, media related experiences, and media's physical capabilities affect media selection. The final wave recognizes that people often multicommunicate, use media sequentially, or combine different media and ICTs to communicate. Now media and ICT use are considered multiple media use, combinatorial ICT use, and part of a communication media repertoire.