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Writing Research into Professional E-Mail Communication

Writing Research into Professional E-Mail Communication

Kristie Edwards, Simeon Yates, Anne-Florence Dujardin, Geff Green
Copyright: © 2008 |Pages: 18
ISBN13: 9781599048932|ISBN10: 1599048930|EISBN13: 9781599048949
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch026
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MLA

Edwards, Kristie, et al. "Writing Research into Professional E-Mail Communication." Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices, edited by Pavel Zemliansky and Kirk St.Amant, IGI Global, 2008, pp. 364-381. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch026

APA

Edwards, K., Yates, S., Dujardin, A., & Green, G. (2008). Writing Research into Professional E-Mail Communication. In P. Zemliansky & K. St.Amant (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices (pp. 364-381). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch026

Chicago

Edwards, Kristie, et al. "Writing Research into Professional E-Mail Communication." In Handbook of Research on Virtual Workplaces and the New Nature of Business Practices, edited by Pavel Zemliansky and Kirk St.Amant, 364-381. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2008. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-893-2.ch026

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Abstract

A healthy balance between social and task-oriented activities helps teamwork. In virtual teams, e-mail texts must often carry both task-oriented and socio-emotional communication between individuals. While some theories of computer-mediated communication suggest socio-emotional exchange may not be well supported in e-mail communications, research demonstrates that individuals, nevertheless, achieve this. However, the lack of unplanned informal exchanges in virtual teams communicating by e-mail may still hinder team performance. We compared adaptations in socio-emotional content of e-mail communications in academic and commercial team writing contexts. Results suggested a task-oriented focus in the commercial team culture and an even social-task balance in the academic team culture. Our research leads us to recommend a more conversational style in professional e-mail writing. Additionally in virtual team working, we recommend encouraging face-to-face contact, allocating time specifically for social exchanges and making information about colleagues available to each other.

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