This study explores social processes associated with e-mail overload, drawing on Sproull and Kiesler's first and second-order effects of communication technologies and Boden's theory of lamination. In a three-part study, the authors examined e-mail interactions from a government organization by logging e-mails, submitting an e-mail string to close textual analysis, and analyzing focus group data about e-mail overload. The results reveal three characteristics that contribute to e-mail overload— unstable requests, pressures to respond, and the delegation of tasks and shifting interactants—suggesting that e-mail talk, as social interaction, may both create and affect overload.

The argument is presented that managerial writing is performed within a unique context; consequently, it is important to review the extant research within that context to understand managerial writing. The literature is reviewed within the framework of writing context, process, and outcome. The paucity of research and the heavy emphasis on survey methodology expose the need for extensive research on managerial writing. Six general research questions are presented to guide future research efforts.