Social Structures and Personal Values That Predict E-Mail Use: An International Comparative Study

Mark F. Peterson, Stephanie J. Thomason, Norm Althouse, Nicholas Athanassiou, Gudrun Curri, Robert Konopaske, Tomasz Lenartowicz, Mark Meckler, Mark E. Mendenhall, Andrew A. Mogaji and Julie I.A. Rowney
Additional contact information
Mark F. Peterson: Florida Atlantic University, USA and Maastricht University, Netherlands
Stephanie J. Thomason: University of Tampa, USA
Norm Althouse: University of Calgary, Canada
Nicholas Athanassiou: Northeastern University, USA
Gudrun Curri: Dalhousie University, Canada
Robert Konopaske: Texas State University, USA
Tomasz Lenartowicz: Florida Atlantic University, USA
Mark Meckler: University of Portland, USA
Mark E. Mendenhall: University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, USA
Andrew A. Mogaji: Benue State University, Nigeria
Julie I.A. Rowney: University of Calgary, Canada

Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM), 2010, vol. 18, issue 2, pages 57-84

Abstract: This article extends communication and technology use theories about factors that predict e-mail use by explaining the reasons for cultural contingencies in the effects of managers’ personal values and the social structures (roles, rules and norms) that are most used in their work context. Results from a survey of 576 managers from Canada, the English-speaking Caribbean, Nigeria, and the United States indicate that e-mail use may support participative and lateral decision making, as it is positively associated with work contexts that show high reliance on staff specialists especially in the U.S., subordinates, and unwritten rules especially in Nigeria and Canada. The personal value of self-direction is positively related to e-mail use in Canada, while security is negatively related to e-mail use in the United States. The results have implications for further development of TAM and media characteristic theories as well as for training about media use in different cultural contexts.

Date: 2010
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve. ... 4018/jgim.2010040103 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jgim00:v:18:y:2010:i:2:p:57-84

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) is edited by Choon Ling Sia

More articles in Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM) from IGI Global
Series data maintained by Journal Editor ().