Web power: a survey of practitioners’ World Wide Web use and their perceptions of its effects on their decision-making power

Abstract

A national e-mail survey investigated how 432 public relations practitioners perceive their World Wide Web use impacts their decision-making power in their organizations. Practitioners’ web use appears to be positively related to three of Finkelstein's [Finkelstein, S. (1992). Power in top management teams: Dimensions, measurement, and validation. Academy of Management Journal, 35(3), 505–538] conceptualizations of power derived from “upper echelons” theory from the strategic management literature—structural, expert and prestige power. “Super users” who use the web more frequently for productivity and efficiency, for research and evaluation, and for issues communication are most likely to perceive the web empowered them to be promoted (structural power). Practitioners who use the web more frequently for productivity and efficiency as well as for issues communication are more likely to perceive the web empowers them as experts in their organizations (expert power) and enhances how others see them (prestige power). Practitioner-owners perceive that greater web use leads to greater expert power than did non-owners.