IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2009

Emailing the Boss: Cultural Implications of Media Choice

Zoonky Lee Yonsei University ; Younghwa Lee University of Kansas

Abstract

This paper applies Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory in different countries where the significance of media is uniquely shaped by the culture. In particular, we focus on whether Media Richness Theory and Social Influence Theory hold for communication between subordinates and supervisors in different cultures. To test this hypothesis, a comparative cross-cultural field study with knowledge workers (n=120) in the telecommunication industry in the United States and South Korea was conducted. This study demonstrates that country, task equivocality, and communication direction are the factors that affect individuals' media choice. Communication direction was found to be the strongest factor influencing media choice for Korean employees, whereas task equivocality was the dominant factor influencing media choice for US employees. This study also demonstrates the influence of national culture on media choice among US and Korean employees. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2009-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2008.2012281
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
affect and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Ada et al. (2016)
    Factors Impacting the Intention to Use Emergency Notification Services in Campu…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Lowry et al. (2014)
    Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for Building and…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Fang et al. (2013)
    The Role of National Culture and Multimedia on First Impression Bias Reduction:…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Volkema et al. (2011)
    Getting Off on the Right Foot: The Effects of Initial Email Messages on Negotia…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Kock (2005)
    Media Richness or Media Naturalness? The Evolution of Our Biological Communicat…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Robert et al. (2005)
    Paradox of Richness: A Cognitive Model of Media Choice
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Pendharkar et al. (2004)
    The development of a construct for measuring an individual's perceptions of Ema…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Lee (2000)
    The role of cultural protocol in media choice in a confucian virtual workplace
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Also cites 58 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1287/orsc.5.2.121
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/248682
     ↗
  3. 10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
     ↗
  4. 10.1016/S0268-4012(96)00041-2
     ↗
  5. 10.1145/1101779.1101782
     ↗
  6. 10.1089/109493102760147222
     ↗
  7. 10.1089/109493104322820075
     ↗
  8. 10.1080/01463379209369857
     ↗
  9. 10.1093/joc/48.3.3
     ↗
  10. 10.2307/2393354
     ↗
  11. 10.1016/0378-8733(90)90021-Z
     ↗
  12. 10.2307/2392563
     ↗
  13. 10.1177/0893318904265803
     ↗
  14. 10.1177/001872675400700202
     ↗
  15. 10.1287/isre.11.1.93.11786
     ↗
  16. 10.1287/orsc.9.4.437
     ↗
  17. 10.1177/009365087014005006
     ↗
  18. 10.1287/orsc.9.2.160
     ↗
  19. 10.1037/0033-2909.97.2.316
     ↗
  20. 10.2307/249008
     ↗
  21. 10.3200/SOCP.146.3.349-379
     ↗
  22. 10.1287/isre.14.1.87.14765
     ↗
  23. 10.1080/10570310109374716
     ↗
  24. 10.1037/0021-9010.91.4.828
     ↗
  25. 10.1016/S0378-7206(98)00097-4
     ↗
  26. 10.1007/s10726-006-9047-5
     ↗
  27. 10.1287/isre.5.1.23
     ↗
  28. 10.2307/256641
     ↗
  29. 10.1177/0893318995008003001
     ↗
  30. 10.4135/9781483325385.n8
     ↗
  31. 10.4135/9781483325385.n7
     ↗
  32. 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2005.11.002
     ↗
  33. 10.4135/9781483325385
     ↗
  34. 10.2307/257090
     ↗
  35. 10.2307/3250922
     ↗
  36. 10.1080/01972240600677771
     ↗
  37. 10.1287/isre.10.4.287
     ↗
  38. 10.1287/mnsc.1040.0248
     ↗
  39. 10.1177/009365087014005003
     ↗
  40. 10.1080/714041708
     ↗
  41. 10.1287/orsc.11.2.163.12510
     ↗
  42. 10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00278.x
     ↗
  43. 10.2307/256843
     ↗
  44. 10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.07.001
     ↗
  45. kahai (2003)
    exploring the core concepts of media richness theory: the impact of cue multiplicity and …
    J Manage Inform Syst  ↗
  46. 10.1177/009365091018004003
     ↗
  47. 10.2307/249669
     ↗
  48. 10.1007/s10869-006-9023-8
     ↗
  49. 10.1080/03637750500534396
     ↗
  50. 10.1348/096317900167100
     ↗
  51. 10.1017/CBO9780511800887
     ↗
  52. massey (2006)
    unraveling the temporal fabric of knowledge conversion: a model of media selection and use
    MIS Quart  ↗
  53. 10.1016/0378-7206(94)90017-5
     ↗
  54. 10.2307/249136
     ↗
  55. 10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1403_1
     ↗
  56. 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1990.tb00760.x
     ↗
  57. 10.1111/j.1468-2958.1993.tb00309.x
     ↗
  58. 10.2307/249588
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 11 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Mar 2026
    Terms of Service and Community Guidelines as “Value-Laden” Documents: An (Adapted) Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis of “Sexual Content” ↗
    Rachael Jordan
    discourse analysis social media affect and writing
  2. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing
  3. Argumentation Feb 2026
    When Emmanuel Macron Goes Social: Using Social Media Influencers as a Rhetorical Strategy ↗
    Keren Sadoun-Kerber
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument collaborative writing social media affect and writing
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Assessing Soft Skills Requirement in Entry-Level Career Success in the Malaysian Logistics Industry ↗
    Jessica Hai Liaw Ong; Priy Brat Dwivedi
    service learning affect and writing
  5. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education two-year college teacher development social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing literary studies editorial matter