A study of factors influencing media choice in Norwegian organizations

This paper presents the results of a survey used to collect data about media choice from 228 respondents in Norwegian organizations. In this study, we focus on the role of three factors in influencing media choice: (a) task type, (b) experience with different media and (c) users perceptions of media. Results indicate that traditional media (such as face-to-face meetings and telephones) are used to a greater extent than modern media (such as e-mail and faxes) regardless of task type. Prior experience with a medium played a key role in determining the extent to which it was used. Interestingly, different perceptions appeared to affect the choice of different media. In general, these results cast some doubt on media richness theory and highlight the importance of experience and perceptions in users' choice of media.