Message Equivocality, Media Selection, and Manager Performance: Implications for Information Systems

TLDR

A field study of middle‑ and upper‑level managers examined how they select communication media. The study found that media differ in their ability to convey information cues, with managers preferring rich media for ambiguous messages and leaner media for clear ones, and that high‑performing managers are more attuned to the ambiguity–richness relationship, highlighting implications for information system use.

Abstract

A field study of middle- and upper-level managers was undertaken to explain managers' selection of communication media. The findings indicate that media vary in their capacity to convey information cues. Managers prefer rich media for ambiguous communications and less rich media for unequivocal communications. The data suggest that high performing managers are more sensitive to the relationship between message ambiguity and media richness than low performing managers. Implications for managers' use of information systems and electronic media are discussed.