ABSTRACT
One of the most widely used media theories is Media Richness Theory (MRT), which argues that task performance will be improved when task information needs are matched to a medium’s information richness (later called just “media richness”). Media capable of sending “rich” information (e.g., face-to-face meetings) are better suited to equivocal tasks (where there are multiple interpretations for information) and less “rich” media (e.g., computer-mediated communication) are best suited to tasks with a lack of information. MRT was developed to theorize which media should prove most effective, not to theorize how managers choose media (Daft & Lengel, 1986; Dennis & Kinney, 1998). Nonetheless, the expected effectiveness of using a media, is one important factor influencing the choice to use it (Daft, Lengel, & Trevino, 1987). Empirical tests of MRT for “new media” such as computer-mediated communication have not been convincing, (Burke & Chidambaram, 1999; Carnevale et al., 1981; Dennis & Kinney, 1998; El-Shinnawy & Markus, 1992; Kinney & Watson, 1992; Lee, 1994; Markus, 1994; Mennecke, Valacich, & Wheeler, 2000; Ngwenyama & Lee, 1997; Rice & Shook, 1990; Trevino, Lengel, Bodensteiner, Gerloff, & Muir, 1990; Valacich, Paranka, George, & Nunamaker, 1993; Vickery et al. 2004). In this paper, following from the Fit-Appropriation Model (Dennis, Wixom, & Vandenberg, 2001), we argue that the fit of media capabilities to the communication needs of a task influence the appropriation and choice to use a medium.
