Channel expansion theory predicts positive relationships between knowledge-building experiences and perceptions of a medium's capacity for conveying complex information. To date, channel expansion has only been tested in a pair of studies focused upon perceptions of a single medium-email. The present investigation replicates the initial tests of channel expansion theory, assesses the validity of the theory for two additional media, examines whether differences in media explain additional variation in richness perceptions, and analyzes the relationships between expansion predictors and dimensions of richness across three media. Data from 529 organizational media users revealed the following: (1) knowledge-building experiences with a medium, communication partner, topic, and social influences are positively related to perceptions of a medium's richness, (2) these relationships are fairly consistent across email, telephone, and face-to-face, (3) differences in richness are attributable to differences between media, and (4) expansion variables appear to be selectively related to richness dimensions and these relationships vary across media.

Although over 11 million virtual workers in the USA are classified as teleworkers, we know relatively little about them. Drawing on the construct of telepresence, the relationships among four sets of variables seem especially important: actual communication technology use, identifications with aspects of work, degree of virtuality, and various teleworker demographic characteristics. A survey of 86 teleworkers in a wide range of organizations revealed that basic telephone and voicemail are the most frequently used and most vital communication technologies. However, several differences in technology use based on message content and interaction partners also exist. Additionally, moderately virtual teleworkers are more identified with their work team, organization, and occupation than are those who telework small or large portions of their work week. Also, use of advanced phone technologies is most predictive of organizational and occupational identification. Among the implications discussed are: equipping teleworkers with appropriate communication technologies and establishing telework programs where workers are only virtual for a portion of the working week.