Information Richness Theory Research Articles

When prohibitive voice is effective? Exploring the jointly moderating role of hindrance stressor and work-based construal level

Prohibitive voice is important for employees and organizations to reduce hindrance stressor. However, previous research offered limited knowledge for whether prohibitive voice can lead to communication effectiveness in the context of hindrance stressor. The purpose of our research is to examine how to improve the communication effectiveness of prohibitive voice under hindrance stressor condition. Drawing from information richness theory and construal level theory, this study constructed a model regarding the three-way interactive effect of prohibitive voice, hindrance stressor, and work-based construal level on communication effectiveness. By investigating 55 supervisors and 393 employees, we examined our hypothesis. Results of cross-level analysis offered support for the assumption. Specifically, prohibitive voice from employees who are faced with high hindrance stressor and have high work-based construal level tends to be effective communication. Besides, when both hindrance stressor and work-based construal level are low, the association between prohibitive voice and communication effectiveness also tends to be positive. This study delineates the answer for how to increase communication effectiveness of prohibitive voice in the situation of hindrance stressor.

The Effects of Information Continuity and Interpersonal Continuity on Physician Services Online: Cross-sectional Study.

BackgroundWeb-based medical services have become an effective supplement to traditional services in hospitals and an essential part of medical services. Studies have shown that web-based medical services are useful for shortening the delayed admission time and for enhancing the treatment effect from the service continuity perspective. However, the specific measures that patients and physicians should take to improve service continuity remain unknown.ObjectiveBased on the information richness theory and continuity of care, this study investigates the dynamic effects of information continuity and interpersonal continuity on physician services online.MethodsData of 7200 patients with 360 physicians covering complete interaction records were collected from a professional web-based platform in China. Content analysis was performed to recognize matching patients and physicians, and least square regression analysis was performed to obtain all empirical results.ResultsEmpirical results showed that in the short term, information continuity (including offline experience, medical records, and detailed information) influences physicians’ web-based services, and their influences show heterogeneity. Moreover, if a patient’s online physician is the same physician who he/she has visited offline, we find that interpersonal continuity is important for service. In the long term, information continuity and interpersonal continuity positively improve service continuity by facilitating repeat purchases.ConclusionsOverall, our findings not only shed new light on patient behavior online and cross-channel behavior but also provide practical insights into improving the continuity of care in online health communities.

Qualitative research interviews using online video technology – challenges and opportunities

Purpose This study aims to examine the methodological and method-related challenges and opportunities arising from the use of video interviews in qualitative accounting research, focussed on collecting contextual data and visual cues, enriching communication quality and building and maintaining rapport with interviewees. Design/methodology/approach Prior literature and the authors’ experiences using video technologies for research, including conducting interviews, inform this research. This study uses a transactional conceptual refinement of information richness theory and channel expansion theory to critically analyse the challenges and opportunities of using video technology to conduct qualitative research interviews. Findings The ability, need for and significance of collecting contextual data depend on the researchers’ ontological and epistemological assumptions, and are, therefore, influenced by their research design choices. Video technology enables researchers to view research settings by video. In addition, whilst group/panel interviews have their advantages, it is often difficult to get everyone together in person, something video technology can potentially overcome. The feasibility and the quality of video interviews can be improved if both interview participants are experienced with using video technology, as well as with judicious investment in good quality video technology and through testing and practice. We also discuss how rapport building with interviewees can be facilitated by overcoming the video’s sense of disconnect and enhancing interviewees’ willingness to engage. Originality/value The study builds on the limited prior literature and considers the challenges and opportunities related to methodology and method when conducting video-based qualitative interviews in accounting research. Broadly, qualitative researchers will find the paper useful in considering the use of video interviews and in making research design choices appropriate for video interviews.

What influences online reviews’ perceived information quality?

PurposeOnline reviews presented in the format of multimedia information, such as pictures and videos, continue to emerge, but whether the richness of multimedia information can enforce the quality of online reviews has remained uncertain. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differences in the perceived information quality of online reviews, based on the information richness theory, emotional polarity and product type.Design/methodology/approachThis is a Web-based experiment in which 12 groups constructed at different levels of these three factors were designed for the purpose of obtaining data.FindingsThe study results show that under different positive and negative emotional polarities, different information richness and product types have different effects on perceived information quality; for different product types, positive and negative emotional polarity have different effects on perceived information quality. For “search” products, the perceived information quality of online reviews with low information richness is high; under different information richness, different emotional polarity and product types have different effects on perceived information quality.Practical implicationsThis paper has important practical significance for the management of e-commerce platforms for online reviews.Originality/valueThis paper on the perceived information quality of online reviews puts more focus on the formal features of online reviews and aims to discover the relationships between different directions for perceived information quality under the impact of interaction of formats, emotional polarity and product type. The study hopes to further strengthen the application of the information richness theory in the field of online reviews research and to measure perceived information quality from a variety of aspects.

Researcher perceptions and choices of interview media: the case of accounting research

AbstractThis study offers foundational insights into the ways in which perceptions of different interview media—principally, face‐to‐face, telephone and videoconferencing channels of communication—may influence researcher choices and practices. Informed by the reflections of 23 senior accounting researchers, our evidence identifies a duality of practices in the usage of different interviewing media, influenced primarily through the role played by experience, which informs perceptions upon which practices are based. We discuss this duality of practices in terms of information richness theory and channel expansion theory and offer further insights into the factors that influence and shape researchers’ perceptions of the contextual suitability of particular media available to interview‐based accounting research.

Factors influencing people’s health knowledge adoption in social media

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing people’s health knowledge adoption in social media, with an eye toward promoting health information literacy and healthy behavior.Design/methodology/approachBased on the integration of sense-making theory, social influence theory, information richness theory, fear appeal theory, and ELM (elaboration likelihood method), a health knowledge adoption model is constructed. Taking spondylopathy as an example, high health threat and low health threat experiments and questionnaires are designed to complete the empirical study. In all, 355 effective survey samples are collected and analyzed, leveraging a partial least squares method.FindingsResearch results indicate that perceived knowledge quality, perceived knowledge consensus, and perceived source credibility have positive effects on health knowledge adoption via the mediator – trust; knowledge richness contributes to the perception of knowledge quality, source credibility, and knowledge consensus, especially under high health threat; health threat has significant positive moderating effects on the relationship between trust and health knowledge adoption, and the relationship between perceived knowledge quality and trust, with negative moderating effects on the relationships between perceived knowledge consensus, perceived source credibility, and trust.Originality/valueThis paper examines the mediating effecting of trust in the process of health knowledge adoption. Based on the integration of fear appeal theory, social influence theory, sense-making theory, information richness theory and elaboration likelihood model, this study investigates the factors influencing health knowledge adoption in social media from the perspective of a user, and explores the moderating effect of health threat on health knowledge adoption.

Education, Educational Services and their Quality

eWOM Richness of Leisure Farm Tour Experience：Influences of Message Valence, Product Type and Consumer Knowledge Shuling Liao, Crystal Tzu-ying Lee, Tzu-han Lin, Meng-chen Lin Abstract Rich information facilitates consumer buying judgment and decision-making, and therefore enhances marketing communication effectiveness. Drawing on the information richness theory, this study attempts to address how valence of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), product type and consumer knowledge will yield different levels of eWOM richness perception for experience goods versus search goods. The results based on a three-way experimental study with 156 valid responses suggest that negative eWOM has a stronger effect in producing eWOM information richness than does positive eWOM, and such effect is more pronounced for a leisure farm tour (experience goods) than for digital camera (search goods). The tendency that negative eWOM will provide richer information for the leisure farm tour is more evident for high-knowledge consumers than for low-knowledge consumers. The study’s results caution against the aggravated harm of negative eWOM incurred from the dissatisfactory experience of a leisure farm tour. The managerial implications for the practitioners are provided. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jmm.v3n2a6

Comparing Interview Interaction Modes in Management Accounting Research: A Case to Answer?

The medium by which interviews are conducted is of potentially important consequence in qualitative management accounting research. Advances in communications technology have largely mitigated the ‘tyranny of distance’ challenges experienced by geographically disparate researchers and research participants. In addition to face-to-face interviewing, researchers now have the option of using telephone as well as videoconferencing mediums through which to collect data, thereby enhancing their accessibility to data sources that have previously been prohibitive for reasons relating to both time and expense. Limited empirical attention, however, has been directed towards the similarities and differences between face-to-face, telephone and videoconferencing interview interactions. Indeed, the equivalence of these forms of qualitative data collection has rarely been questioned in the management accounting literature. The current study challenges the seemingly uncontested premise that ‘all interviews are alike’, and in so doing, aims to provide insights into the extent to which data obtained by interviews in face-to-face, telephone and videoconferencing modes in qualitative management accounting research may be comparable.Our investigation is informed by the opinions of 25 senior management accounting academics from 21 universities in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand who have published qualitative interview-based research in selected international peer-reviewed academic journals in the 25-year period from 1988-2013. The perceptions of these academic participants clearly reflect a view that, ‘all interviews are not alike’ in the characteristics of the data they capture, and the implications of this variation for the ensuing analysis and interpretation of findings. Information Richness Theory (IRT) provides a partial explanation for these perceptions, but the predictions of IRT are moderated for all three modes of interaction. Channel Expansion Theory (CET) offers insights into why these perceptions may prevail, and these influence-shaping perceptions serve as the basis of a provision typology of interview modes, and their contextual suitability. Rather than a prescriptive or normative base upon which future interview-based management accounting research ‘should’ be undertaken, our findings serve as a starting point for further consideration and reflection, with direct implications for the credibility and validity of qualitative management accounting research.

Internet related network coordinating tools and their uses amongst different classifications of business employees

Computer networks play a significant role in business management nowadays. This is especially true for Taiwanese business, which has made a considerable contribution to the global information products. Most enterprises in Taiwan rely heavily on various networking tools to coordinate the business procedures. This research adopted the viewpoints of the technology acceptance model and information richness theory: The users would experience usefulness and ease of use during the interaction process because of the abundant networking information. Due to their high network-utilization tendency, Taiwanese business employees were selected as the study sample. The purpose of this study was to categorize the types of users with different job content using networking tools as coordination media. The empirical study found four types of users: the followers and imitators, the self-confident, the technophiles, and the mediocre and conservatives. Moreover, significant differences were found across the four groups in terms of their interactions with, and cognition of, networking tools. Last, the study provided some suggestions for managerial practices according to the characteristics of these four types of users. Key words: Network, interaction, cognition, Taiwanese business.

Understanding retailers’ acceptance of virtual stores

The acceptance of e-commerce among consumers has stimulated the rise of virtual stores. Increasing traditional retailers or people who do not have sufficient capital for maintaining a brick-and-mortar store have considered using virtual stores to reach global market. In the e-commerce literature, there has been rich research evidence concerning consumers’ acceptance of virtual stores. However, rigorous academic research on retailers’ acceptance of virtual stores is relatively scarce today. This study draws upon the theory of planned behavior and information richness theory to propose an integrated theoretical model. A field survey is used to collect data from e-tailers. The data are analyzed to examine the six relationships posited in the research model. Findings of this study provide a further research avenue for e-commerce, and implications for those who are managing or considering using virtual stores.

Knowledge attributes and the choice of knowledge transfer mechanism in networks: the case of franchising

In this paper we develop a knowledge-based view on the choice of knowledge transfer mechanisms in franchising that integrates results from the information richness theory. Starting from the information richness theory we argue that tacitness of system knowledge, operationalized by codifiability, teachability and complexity, determines the information richness of the knowledge transfer mechanisms of franchising firms. We examine the following hypotheses: (1) If the franchisor’s knowledge is characterized by a high degree of codifiability and teachability and a low degree of complexity, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a lower degree of information richness are used; (2) If the franchisor’s knowledge is characterized by a high degree of complexity and a low degree of codifiability and teachability, knowledge transfer mechanisms with a higher degree of information richness are used. We test these hypotheses by using data from 52 franchising firms in the Austrian franchise sector. The data provide support for the hypotheses.

The use of knowledge transfer mechanisms in franchising

AbstractIn this paper, we try to explain the use of knowledge transfer mechanisms in franchising firms by applying the knowledge‐based view of the firm that integrates results from the information richness theory. Starting from the information richness theory we argue that the degree of tacitness of system‐specific knowledge determines the information richness of the knowledge transfer mechanisms of franchising firms. We examine the following hypotheses: (1) the franchisor uses more knowledge transfer mechanisms with a lower degree of information richness (such as email, intra‐ and internet), if the tacitness of system‐specific knowledge is low, and (2) the franchisor uses more knowledge transfer mechanisms with a higher degree of information richness (such as training, seminar, meetings, visits), if the tacitness of system‐specific knowledge is high. We test these hypotheses by using data from 83 franchising firms in the Austrian franchise sector. The data provide partial support for the hypotheses. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effects of Different Presentation Modalities on a Person Identification Task: A Study of Wireless Multimedia PDA Use in a Security Context

The convergence of affordable multimedia capabilities with local and wide area wireless data networking on handheld devices is a particularly important trend. Using off-the-shelf technology, we conducted a simple experiment that required participants to engage in a person-identification task while posing as security agents in a field setting. Participants attempted to identify a target person in a public setting under different conditions with or without the aid of video information distributed to them via wireless-enabled multimedia PDAs. We developed a research framework and expectations based on previous research in the areas of the dual processing theory of working memory, information richness theory, and the role of video in grounding. Our findings suggest that dual modes of presentation (i.e., phonological and visuospatial information) simultaneously incorporated by a specific presentation significantly influence user perception and enhance task performance.

Mining Face-to-Face Interaction Networks using Sociometric Badges: Predicting Productivity in an IT Configuration Task

Social network theories (e.g. Granovetter 1973, Burt 1992) and information richness theory (Daft & Lengel 1987) have both been used independently to understand knowledge transfer in information intensive work settings. Social network theories explain how network structures covary with the diffusion and distribution of information, but largely ignore characteristics of the communication channels (or media) through which information and knowledge are transferred. Information richness theory on the other hand focuses explicitly on the communication channel requirements for different types of knowledge transfer but ignores the population level topology through which information is transferred in a network. This paper aims to bridge these two sets of theories to understand what types of social structures are most conducive to transferring knowledge and improving work performance in face-to-face communication networks. Using a novel set of data collection tools, techniques and methodologies, we were able to record precise data on the face-to-face interaction networks, tonal conversational variation and physical proximity of a group of IT configuration specialists over a one month period while they conducted their work. Linking these data to detailed performance and productivity metrics, we find four main results. First, the face-to-face communication networks of productive workers display very different topological structures compared to those discovered for email networks in previous research. In face-to-face networks, network cohesion is positively correlated with higher worker productivity, while the opposite is true in email communication. Second, network cohesion in face-to-face networks is associated with even higher work performance when executing complex tasks. This result suggests that network cohesion may complement information-rich communication media for transferring the complex or tacit knowledge needed to complete complex tasks. Third, the most effective network structures for latent social networks (those that characterize the network of available communication partners) differ from in-task social networks (those that characterize the network of communication partners that are actualized during the execution of a particular task). Finally, the effect of cohesion is much stronger in face-to-face networks than in physical proximity networks, demonstrating that information flows in actual conversations (rather than mere physical proximity) are driving our results. Our work bridges two influential bodies of research in order to contrast face-to-face network structure with network structure in electronic communication. We also contribute a novel set of tools and techniques for discovering and recording precise face-to-face interaction data in real world work settings.

Selection of communication technologies—A perspective based on information richness theory and trust

Communication technology is constantly proliferating due to nonstop technological innovation. The development of revolutionary communication tools has a radical effect on communication behavior. Yet, the introduction of new communication technology tools does not necessarily lead to the immediate replacement of old technology, but rather provides consumers with additional choices. In other words, every new communication technology product faces competition from existing communication tools. This study explores the underlying factors that affect consumer selection of various communication technology tools. Experimental results show that communicators will choose a tool with high information richness when faced with a long-distance communication situation involving a highly equivocal task and a low degree of trust for the other party. However, media selection decisions for communication over short distances are not affected by either task equivocality or trust.

Organizational Information Asymmetry, Media Sociability and Structural Design

In addition to the objectives of uncertainty reduction and equivocality reduction most often studied in research on organizational information processing, I will argue that organizations process information in order to resolve and even to generate asymmetric information environments. These asymmetric objectives can lead to organizational information structures completely opposite those anticipated by information richness theory. This capacity to not only invert the expected relationship between environment and media richness, but also alter the apparent richness of a medium, is the result of the relative sociability of an information environment in use within the organization. The sociability of a medium is defined as the relative ease with which participants might extend, alter, evolve, amalgamate and orient that particular information environment. Managers can design information environments with sociability in mind, enabling organizational actors to collectively contribute to a medium, optimizing a particular mix of social cues, facts, feedback, language and diverse channels for not only effective, but also mutual understanding.

Employee Communications and Community: An Exploratory Study

This study serves as a means of determining the relevance of information richness theory to the field of public relations as it pertains to employee communications and community building. In the article, I analyze the effect that various employee communications tools could potentially have on fostering a sense of community in an organization based on their degrees of information richness. Using a survey method to gather data, the study focuses on a healthcare system in the Pacific Northwest with multiple locations. The study evaluates employee perceptions of the effectiveness of various communication tools in helping to establish a sense of community at 3 levels of the organitation—departmental, regional, and organizational.

Using mobile communication technology in high school education: Motivation, pressure, and learning performance

Motivation and pressure are considered two factors impacting vocational senior high school student learning. New communication technology, especially mobile communication technology, is supposed to be effective in encouraging interaction between the student and the instructor and improving learning efficiency. Social presence and information richness theory was applied to analyze the media and their impacts on the instruction process firstly. Then the author observed firstly the impact of using individual communication technologies – namely Short Message Service (SMS), email, and online forum – on student learning motivation, pressure, and performance, based on a comparative investigation of 176 students. Then the impacts of using combination of mobile and Internet communication technology – SMS + email, SMS + online forum – were examined with another experiment of 45 students. The result showed that instant messaging helps bonding the two roles – student and instructor – in the instruction process effectively. When combined with Internet communication media, it can significantly increase student extrinsic motivation without causing higher pressure. Additionally, communication media demanding public expression rather than private dialogue should be adopted with careful consideration, since they may raise student pressure.

Negotiation, email, and Internet reverse auctions: How sourcing mechanisms deployed by buyers affect suppliers’ trust

The Internet has made a wealth of new tools available to the industrial buyer. However, researchers have suggested that computer-mediated interaction with suppliers may not be conducive to strong supplier relationships in general and to trust in particular. This paper compares two computer-mediated sourcing tools (email negotiation and Internet reverse auctions) with face-to-face negotiation. Information richness theory suggests that the different media will produce different impacts relating to sellers’ trust in buyers. Data are generated with a simulation experiment using 117 subjects. We found that information richness affects seller–buyer trust: Sellers who used face-to-face negotiation, the richest medium in the study, always reported higher trust in their buyer counterparts than did sellers using Internet reverse auctions. There were also some trust advantages of face-to-face negotiation over email and limited advantages of email over reverse auctions. We also found that procurement complexity influences the relationship between information richness and trust. As hypothesized, when face-to-face negotiation is used, procurement complexity has no effect on seller trust. When reverse auctions are utilized, the greater the complexity of the purchase, the less the seller trust. However, when email is used, greater procurement complexity is associated with greater seller trust, and there are no differences in trust between the email and face-to-face channels. Finally, we found that sellers’ trust in buyers is positively associated with sellers’ desire for future dealings with the buyer.

The effects of cognitive style and media richness on commitment to telework and virtual teams

Telework (also known as telecommuting) and virtual teams (also known as virtual collaboration) are seen as strategic organizational innovations with potential benefits to individuals, business, and society. Despite the rapid growth of telework and virtual team innovations, very little empirical research has investigated factors associated with their success. Thus, practitioners can only speculate why they succeed or fail. This empirical study investigated telework and virtual team innovations drawing upon commitment, information richness, and cognitive style (mental self-government) theory. Results indicate that certain combinations of cognitive styles and media contribute to commitment to the telework function and to virtual teams. Consequently, specific recommendations are made for teleworker selection, development, and for the design of the telework environment.