Abstract

This project investigated use of electronic mail (EM) in two dispersed R&D units of a major corporation. Using survey and interview methodology, the researchers found that (1) EM facilitated gatekeeping by supporting rapid and diverse communication across locations, (2) EM's primary effects are in reducing time delays in communication of information father than in direct facilitation of the creative processes, (3) the productivity impacts of reducing time delays can be substantial, (4) the use and impacts of EM are determined to some degree by who has access to the system, what organizational policies are in force, what supervisory practices are evident, and what informal social norms exist regarding appropriate communication behavior. EM was used most effectively by research managers with good keyboard skills who existed in an organizational context supportive of sustained and diverse use of EM.


Click on the link below for the final report in pdf.
fulk_schmitz_ryu_vol1.pdf