A56. Kraut,
R., Rice, R. E., Cool, C. & Fish, R. (1998). Varieties of social
influence:
The role of utility and norms in the success of a new communication
medium.
Organization
Science, 9(4), 437-453.
This natural experiment investigates the
introduction and use of
a pair of competing video telephone systems in a company over a period
of 18 months. Both quantitative, time-series analyses and in-depth
interviews
demonstrate that employees adopted and used the video system for both
utility
and normative reasons. Consistent with utility explanations, people in
the most communication-intensive jobs were the most likely to use video
telephony. Consistent with social influence explanations, people used a
particular system more when more people in general were using it and
when
more people in their work group were using it. There were two
conceptually
distinct, but empirically entangled. types of social influence. First,
use by other people changed the objective benefits and costs associated
with using the system, and thus their utility. Second, use by others
changed
the normative environment surrounding the new technology. Both utility
and normative influences were stronger in one’s primary work group.
Implementers,
users, and researchers should consider both utility and normative
factors
influencing both the success and failure of new organizational
communication
systems.
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