ABSTRACT
This chapter uses survey data from a large US-based multinational corporation to examine the effects of communication by electronic mail and other media. There are many potential effects of the new mix of communications media. A potential consequence of today's media-rich environment is that it increases the volume of communication within an organization to initiate and receive. Analytically one may distinguish two disruptive impacts of heavy communication: information overload and communication intrusion. Physical and geographical proximity of organizational members increase both informal communication and more official interactions. Analyses. In order to examine media use, we constructed a multipage questionnaire that probed employees job attributes, demographic control variables, organizational knowledge, information overload, and media use. The use of electronic bulletin boards or clipping services would be a more direct mechanism for electronic communication to lead to organizational knowledge. Electronic mail, along with other non-interactive media, might provide this information without substantially increasing overload.
