Information and Communication Technologies and Individual Communication Traits

Introduction

Effective communication is becoming increasingly critical and is at the core of group interaction and performance. Recent data suggests that as many as 44% of all employees worked completely remote during the pandemic and one-fourth of employees seeking to continue working remotely (Mlitz, 2021). Distributed employees rely heavily on various modes of communication (i.e., e-mail, messaging platforms such as Slack, Twitter, and video conferencing applications) to accomplish tasks. Researchers have found that workers are using an assortment of communication technologies to achieve differing communication goals (Watson-Manheim & Belanger, 2007). Moreover, emerging technologies enhance work patterns or shift the communication culture by design (K. E. Anderson, 2016). ICTs have become so interwoven in how organizations use technology that some researchers suggest that the use of computer technology has shifted emphasis from computing to communication (Frey, 1999). Yet, as workers in distributed environments employ diverse communication techniques to create more complex communication structures the effects on group dynamics and performance are unclear. Adding to the complexity, each individual brings a unique set of individual traits to the encounter.

Unified communications (UC) solutions integrate communications with business applications. For example, Salesforce integrates SMS, calls, and video conferencing, while Microsoft Teams includes, calls, calendaring, video conferencing, chat, and document management. Improvements are realized through more efficient work processes, greater information availability, and improved individual performance. Coincident with the increase in unified communications, the era of “mass personalization” yields applications that can be adapted to fit the unique needs of individual end-users. Employees can choose to chat real-time or respond via email after a meeting, hide their visibility during a meeting, and set messaging notification frequency among other features. The increase in the number of communications options along with the ability to select and customize communications applications “on the fly” opens an entirely new realm of possibilities for communications technologies to reflect the unique preferences and nuances of the individual.

Much of IS research on the choice of communication mode has centered on studying how the attributes of communication media affect media selection (C. Anderson & Robey, 2017; Fu et al., 2019; Karahanna et al., 2018). Recently, researchers have begun exploring the roles of gratification, norms (Beldad & Hegner, 2018; Vanduhe et al., 2020), and contextual factors such as the need for privacy and accountability (Ahmed et al., 2017). In addition, studies have found that the hierarchical position of the participants influences the type of communication tool What emerges from the existing body of literature is that the choice of communication medium is a multifaceted product of contextual influences and user goals. Aside from exploring the role of personality (Chopik et al., 2017; Williams, 2019), little IS research has focused on how individual traits, influence technology. However, today’s technology-infused work environment provides a mixture of technologies and capabilities that enable users to create uniquely individual communication choices. This research explores the role of individual communication traits in electronic communication, similar to individuals’ unique styles for communicating face-to-face.