Exploring How Culture and Task Nature Affect the Adoption of Communication Media

The intent of this research is to study the interacting effect of culture and task nature on the adoption of communication media tools. The objectives are to suggest a comprehensive approach to the study of business communication media adoption with the consideration of cultural and task nature impact and to identify the best match of cultural characteristics and task nature with media choices so as to enhance business communication. Hypotheses were set up to test the interrelationships between independent variables (Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and task nature) and the dependent variables (communication media). General Linear Model (GLM) analyses were carried out to analyze the survey data. Results of the empirical study suggest that: (1) individualism and familiarity with recipients suggest face-to-face communication; (2) uncertainties avoidances, task reciprocity, and task urgency have favor on telephone and video conferencing system; (3) high femininity people prefer telephone while high masculinity prefer instant messaging; (4) power distance index, work position, and task reciprocity suggest email and face-to-face communication; (5) when working on reciprocal tasks and recipients are far away, long-term orientated people prefer email or instant messaging while short-term orientated prefer face-to-face communication. The findings of the study provide useful insights into how business communication can be carried out so as to improve communication quality and in turn enhance productivity as a whole.