Individual and organizational influences on voice mail use and evaluation

This study develops and tests a simple model predicting influences on use of voice mail, and influences of voice mail use on later system evaluations. Data were collected in two organisations, using self-report and system-monitored usage measures. The study makes distinctions between individual and organizational innovativeness, communication-based and location-based group interdependence, overall and intentional voice mail usage, and generic and specific appropriateness of voice mail. Results were quite similar across the two organizations. Individual innovativeness had no influence, but organizational conservativeness had a positive influence on system usage, possibly for less innovative uses of voice mail as voice answering rather than as a voice messaging. Task analysability had a small positive influence on usage. Group location interdependency had perhaps the most consistent influence on voice mail usage. Greater intentional self-reported use of voice mail for voice messaging, rather than simple monitored and self-reported amount of usage, had somewhat of a greater influence on system evaluations. Individual and organizational variables had no significant influence system evaluations, controlling for the influence of usage. The discussion provides some suggestions for models of new organizational media use in organizations.