How can managers adopt and use electronic communication media more effectively? An exploratory study

Media Richness Theory (MRT) has been the most influential theory in guiding managers for media choice, adoption and use for the last decade. It predicts that new electronic communication media such as e-mail cannot convey rich information and therefore cannot be used to solve equivocal task problems. However, as business going to be more regional and global, organizational managers need to use new electronic communication media such as e-mail to convey rich information and solve complicated equivocal task problems. This study explores this issue by proposing a theoretical framework to support communicators to build up shared social constructions. The paper argues that after an e-mail system is embedded with the theoretical framework, e-mail as a relatively lean communication medium, can be chosen and adopted by organizational managers to convey rich information and solve equivocal task problems effectively.