E-mail communication and supervisor-subordinate exchange quality: An empirical study

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Human Systems Management

ISSN

0167-2533

Volume

21

Issue

3

DOI

10.3233/HSM-2002-21305

First Page

193

Last Page

204

Publication Date

11-26-2002

Abstract

The impact of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on organizational cultures and users has been the focus of many previous studies. In their attempts to explain the effects of CMC in organizational communications, particularly the effects of e-mail, information systems researchers have tested theories that originated in a number of disciplines. Among the effects of CMC, one potentially important issue is the relationship between subordinates and their supervisors. This study empirically examines the impact of e-mail usage on the quality of these exchanges, and attempts to measure the resulting depth of the interpersonal relationships established between knowledge workers and their immediate superiors. The results show that among several usage factors investigated, e-mail communication frequency has a more direct correlation to exchange quality than other factors, among them communication richness, which did not have significant correlation. A path diagram was developed to illustrate the relationships of the variables.

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