Communication Support Systems Managing the fitness between contextual factors and communication media factors

Abstract

This study investigates the factors that are crucial for successful communication and hence to the design of Communication Support Systems (CSS). The study focuses on the concept of media richness and attempts to improve our understanding of the factors that influences the fitness between organizational context and the use of communication technology. Thus, the enterprise of mine study has been delineated and focused on the following question: What factors are responsible for successful fit between the communication mediums characteristics and an organizations communicational character? The following three statements represent a sound rather than conclusive answer to the investigated issue. • Firstly, the success of communication depends on the fitness between organizational related factors and communication media related factors. Accordingly, the fitness is expressed in terms of a matching between required richness and provided richness. • Secondly, the fitness between organizational related factors and communication media related factors depends on human factors such as task experience and communication media experience. • Thirdly, the fitness between organizational related factors and communication media related factors depends on human perceived uncertainty rather than task uncertainty as the classical information richness theory presupposes. A case study in the context of a higher school was chosen to be investigated where students teachers, and staff were interviewed with respect to the use of information and communication support.