Abstract
Abstract Media use can be considered as an integral part of virtual communication and thus of present-day human interaction. Nevertheless, research on media use and effects still largely relies on laboratory experiments, treating it as a stable input condition, rather than as a function of human appropriation. In this study, we propose a conceptualization of virtual communication as a dynamic construct dependent on media appropriation, particularly of compensatory adaptation processes. Using longitudinal data gathered from 165 individuals, nested in 34 project teams, we explore compensatory adaptation as a function of communication intensity and physical media richness and develop a continuous score of virtual communication accounting for these compensatory processes. Multilevel analyses demonstrate a significant influence of this communication measure on team performance, increasing over time. These results are discussed with regards to their implications for theories of media use and effects and their relevance for real-life communication processes.
Highlights
Lisa Handke and Eva-Maria Schulte are research associates at the Department of Industrial/ Organizational and Social Psychology at the TU Braunschweig (Germany)
Using longitudinal data gathered from 165 individuals, nested in 34 project teams, we explore compensatory adaptation as a function of communication intensity and physical media richness and develop a continuous score of virtual communication accounting for these compensatory processes
A new measure of virtual communication The communication score we aim to develop and showcase in this study builds on the following propositions: (1) individuals alter their communication behavior, (2) individuals demonstrate compensatory adaptation in their communication behavior via substitution between physical media richness and communication intensity, and (3) the two individual constructs can be combined in a conglomerate score, resulting in a continuous score of communication that allows for compensatory adaptation processes
Summary
Together with the increased chance of misunderstandings, this strongly impedes team members’ ability to anticipate each other’s actions and to coordinate their behavior with one another These findings are explained by the lack of bandwidth (i.e., the number of communication cues a medium can transport) of virtual media (e.g., Daft & Lengel, 1986; Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976). They are capable of adapting media to their causes by compensating suppressed communicative cues and can enhance their own richness perceptions through experience
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
