Context-dependent vs. content-dependent: an exploration of the cultural behavioural patterns of online intercultural communication using e-mail

Norhayati Zakaria and Derrick L. Cogburn

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2010, vol. 4, issue 3, 330-347

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural behavioural patterns of online intercultural communication in a globally distributed collaborative environment. We conducted a qualitative content analysis on the data drawn from a public e-mail archive of the trans-national civil society participants in the UN World Summit on the Information Society. The findings showed that there were no significant differences observed between the frequency of contributions between high and low-context participants in the collaborative processes. But, importantly, the findings suggest that culture matters in the form of intercultural communication styles and the cultural values to which participants subscribe. Based on Edward Hall's high and low-context theory, distinctive patterns of high-context and low-context cultural behaviours were evident in the strategies, approaches and communicative mannerisms of people participating in the distributed collaboration under analysis. In summary, online cultural behavioural patterns can be illustrated as context-dependent or content-dependent.

Keywords: high context cultural behaviour; low context cultural behaviour; cultural values; intercultural communication styles; globally distributed collaboration; WSIS; World Summit on the Information Society; UN; United Nations; behavioural patterns; email archives; electronic mail; collaborative environments; online communication; virtual communication; internet; world wide web; transnational civil society; communicative mannerisms; context-dependent; content-dependent; electronic knowledge sharing; collaboration; decision making. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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