CONTEXT SPECIFIC MEDIA CHOICE AND BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION IN UNIVERSITIES

Despite the research conducted in recent years in the field of information and communication economics, there is relatively little understanding of the impact of new electronic media on communication behaviour. The paper presents a methodology and empirical results on communication behaviour in a university setting. A general framework for communication behaviour is developed where (tele)communication media choice plays an important role. The media choice component of the conceptual framework is analysed in more detail. Special attention is given to the possible existence of barriers to communication. Testing of the media choice segment of the conceptual framework is being achieved by means of the stated preference approach using experimental design theory. The target population is composed of all academics associated with an Austrian university. The survey population is restricted to the academics associated with the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Vienna and the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. The sample design used relies on exogenous stratification. Empirical results are presented using multinomial logit models for a series of communication contexts. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.