SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

According to social constructivist theories of communication technology in organizations, work group members share identifiable patterns of meaning and action concerning communication technology. Empirical evidence of these patterns was found in a study of electronic mail use among a group of scientists and engineers. Social influences on technology-related attitudes and behavior were consistently stronger when individuals were highly attracted to their work groups. for individuals with low attraction, the specific patterns of influence were consistent with predictions from conformity research for compliance effects only; for those with high attraction, both compliance and internalization effects emerged.