Exploring the Dominant Media: How Does Media Use Reflect Organizational Norms and Affect Performance?

Abstract

This research provides strong support for the existence of dominant media norms within organizations and describes their influence on employees’ (a) perceptions of organizational norms, (b) reported media use, and (c) performance evaluations. Survey results demonstrate the presence of strong organizational norms for instant messaging (IM) and e-mail use within a large, high-tech organization. These norms, as well as supervisory behavior, may influence employees’ use of IM and e-mail and even more so when employees have strong polychronic orientations. In addition, employees who reportedly followed organizational norms by using IM and e-mail were awarded higher performance ratings by their supervisors, with 30% of the variance explained. The authors support the survey findings with in-depth interviews with participants exploring media use.