The influence of high/low-context culture and power distance on choice of communication media: Students' media choice to communicate with Professors in Japan and America

International Journal of Intercultural Relations

Volumn 31, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 479-501

  Richardson, Rieko Maruta ^a   Smith, Sandi W ^a  

^a MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Communication media; Cross cultural communication; High low context; Power distance

Indexed keywords

EID: 34248208525     PISSN: 01471767     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.01.002     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. Bowman H., and Van den W. Content & context: An exploration of the basic characteristics of information needs. New Media & Society 4 (2002) 329-353
2. Bresnahan M.J., Shearman S.M., Lee S.Y., Park C.Y., Mosher D., and Ohashi R. Responding to a friend: Perceptions of social appropriateness and liking in Japan, Korea, and the United States. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 31 (2002) 127-145
3. Christie P.M.J., Kwon I.W.G., Stoeberl P.A., and Baumhart R. A cross-cultural comparison of ethical attitudes of business managers: India, Korea and the United States. Journal of Business Ethics 46 (2003) 263-287
4. Chua E.G., and Gudykunst W.B. Conflict resolution in low- and high-context cultures. Communication Research Reports 4 (1987) 32-37
5. Culnan M.J., and Markus M.L. Information technologies. In: Jablin F.M., Roberts K.H., Putnam L.L., and Porter L.W. (Eds). Handbook of organizational communication: An interdisciplinary perspective (1987), Sage, Newbury Park, CA 420-443
6. Daft R.L., and Lengel R.H. Information richness: A new approach to managerial behavior and organization design. Research in Organizational Behavior 6 (1984) 191-233
7. Daft R.L., and Lengel R.H. Organizational information requirements, media richness, and structural design. Management Science 32 (1986) 554-571
8. Daft R.L., Lengel R.H., and Trevino L.K. Message equivocality, media selection, and manager performance: Implications for information systems. MIS Quarterly 11 (1987) 355-366
9. D'Ambra J., Rice R.E., and O'Connor M. Computer-mediated communication and media preference: An investigation of the dimensionality of perceived task equivocality and media richness. Behaviour & Information Technology 17 (1998) 164-174
10. El-Shinnaway M., and Markus M.L. The poverty of media richness theory: Explaining people's choice of electronic mail vs. voice mail. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 46 (1997) 443-467
11. El-Shinnaway M., and Markus L. Acceptance of communication media in organizations: Richness or features?. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 41 (1998) 242-253
12. Engebretson D., and Fullmer D. Cross-cultural differences in territoriality: Interaction distances of native Japanese, Hawaii Japanese, and American Caucasians. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 1 (1970) 261-269
13. Fernández I., Carrera P., Sánchez f., Paez D., and Candia L. Differences between cultures in emotional verbal and non-verbal reactions. Psicothema 12 (2000) 83-92
14. Fulk J. Social construction of communication technology. Academy of Management Journal 36 (1993) 921-950
15. Fulk J., and Boyd B. Emerging theories of communication in organizations. Journal of Management 17 (1991) 407-446
16. Fulk J., Schmitz J., and Ryu D. Cognitive elements in the social construction of communication technology. Management Communication Quarterly 8 (1995) 259-288
17. Fulk F., Steinfield C.W., Schmitz J., and Power J.G. A social information processing model of media use in organizations. Communication Research 14 (1987) 529-552
18. Goldenberg J.L., Ginexi E.M., Sigelman C.K., and Poppen P.J. Just say no: Japanese and American styles of refusing unwanted sexual advances. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 29 (1999) 889-902
19. Gudykunst W.B., Matsumoto Y., Ting-Toomey S., Nishida T., Kim K., and Heyman S. The influence of cultural individualism-collectivism, self construals, and individual values on communication styles across cultures. Human Communication Research 22 (1996) 510-543
20. Gudykunst W.B., and Nishida T. Attributional confidence in low- and high-context cultures. Human Communication Research 12 (1986) 525-549
21. Gudykunst W.B., and Nishida T. Interpersonal and intergroup communication in Japan and the United States. In: Gudykunst W.B. (Ed). Communication in Japan and the United States (1993), State University of New York Press, Albany 149-214
22. Hall E.T. Beyond culture (1976), Anchor Press, Doubleday, Garden City, New York
23. Hasegawa T., and Gudykunst W.B. Silence in Japan and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 29 (1998) 668-684
24. Hofstede G. Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values (1980), Sage, Newbury Park, CA
25. Hofstede G. Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (1991), McGraw-Hill, London
26. Hofstede, G. (2003). Available at 〈http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php〉.
27. Huang W., Watson R.T., and Wei K.K. Can a lean e-mail medium be used for rich communication? A psychological perspective. European Journal of Information Systems 7 (1998) 269-274
28. Hunter J., and Gerbing D. Unidimensional measurement, second order factor analysis and causal models. Research in Organization Behavior 4 (1982) 167-320
29. Kim D., Pan Y., and Park H.S. High- versus low-context culture: A comparison of Chinese, Korean, and American cultures. Psychology & Marketing 15 (1998) 507-521
30. King R.C., and Xia W. Media appropriateness: Effect of experience on communication media choice. Decision Sciences 28 (1997) 877-910
31. Kitayama S., and Ishii K. Word and voice: Spontaneous attention to emotional utterances in two languages. Cognition & Emotion 16 (2002) 29-59
32. Kowner R., and Wiseman R. Culture and status-related behavior: Japanese and American Perceptions of interaction in asymmetric dyads. Cross-Cultural Research 37 (2003) 178-210
33. Lee A.S. Electronic mail as a medium for rich communication: An empirical investigation using hermeneutic interpretation. MIS Quarterly 18 (1994) 143-157
34. Lee O. The role of cultural protocol in media choice in a Confucian virtual workplace. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 43 (2000) 196-200
35. Markus M.L. Electronic mail as the medium of managerial choice. Organization Science 5 (1994) 502-527
36. McLuhan M. Understanding media: The extensions of man (1964), Mentor, McGraw-Hill, NY
37. Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Affairs, Posts and Telecommunication, Japan. (2000). Available at 〈http://www.johotsusintokei.soum.go.jp/whitepaper/ja/h15/intex.html 〉.
38. Miyanaga K. The creative edge: Individualism in Japan (1991), Transaction, New Brunswick, NJ
39. Neuliep J.W. A cross-cultural comparison of teacher immediacy in American and Japanese college classrooms. Communication Research 24 (1997) 431-451
40. Oetzel, J. (2003). Personal communication, January 2004.
41. Oetzel J., Ting-Toomey S., Masumoto T., Yokochi Y., Pan X.H., Takai J., et al. Face and facework in conflict: A cross-cultural comparison of China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Communication Monograph 68 3 (2001) 235-258
42. Oetzel J., Ting-Toomey S., Chew-Sanchez M.I., Harris R., Wilcox R., and Stumpf S. Face and facework in conflicts with parents and siblings: A cross-cultural comparison of Germans, Japanese, Mexicans, and US Americans. Journal of Family Communication 3 (2003) 67-93
43. Ohashi, R. (2000). High/low-context communication: Conceptualization and scale development. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing.
44. Okabe R. Cultural assumptions of East and West: Japan and the United States. In: Gudykunst W.B. (Ed). Intercultural communication theory (1983), Sage, Beverly Hills, CA 21-44
45. Page N.R., and Wiseman R.L. Supervisory behavior and worker satisfaction in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. Journal of Business Communication 30 (1993) 161-180
46. Rice R.E. Contexts of research on organizational computer-mediated communication: A recursive review. In: Lea M. (Ed). Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication (1992), Harvester-Wheatsheaf, United Kingdom 113-144
47. Rice R.E., and Aydin C. Attitudes toward new organizational technology: Network proximity as a mechanism for social information processing. Administrative Science Quarterly 36 (1991) 219-244
48. Rice R.E., D'Ambra J., and More E. Cross-cultural comparison of organizational media evaluation and choice. Journal of communication 48 (1998) 3-26
49. Rice R.E., and Shook D.E. Access to, usage of, and outcomes from an electronic messaging system. ACM Transaction of Office Information Systems 6 (1988) 255-276
50. Schmitz J., and Fulk J. Organizational colleagues, media richness, and electronic mail: Test of the social influence model of technology use. Communication Research 18 (1991) 487-523
51. Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Beyond individualism/collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values, In: Book Editor (Ed.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 85-119.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
52. Sheer V.C., and Chen L. Improving media richness theory: A study of interaction goals, message valence, and task complexity in manager-subordinate communication. Management Communication Quarterly 18 (2004) 76-93
53. Singelis T.M., and Brown W.J. Culture, self, and collectivist communication: Linking culture to individual behavior. Human Communication Research 21 (1995) 354-389
54. Spencer-Oatey H. Unequal relationships in high and low power distance societies-A comparative study of tutor-student role relations in Britain and China. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 28 (1997) 284-302
55. Sproull L., and Kiesler S. Reducing social context cues: Electronic mail in organizational communication. Management Science 32 (1986) 1492-1512
56. Steinfield C.W. Computer-mediated communication in an organizational setting: Explaining task-related and socioemotional uses. Communication Yearbook 9 (1986) 777-804
57. Trevino L.K., Daft R.L., and Lengel R.H. Understanding managers' media choices. In: Fulk J., and Steinfield C.W. (Eds). Organizations and communication technology (1990), Sage, Newbury Park, CA 71-94
58. Trevino L.K., Lengel R.H., and Daft R.L. Media symbolism, media richness, and media choice in organizations: A symbolic interactionist perspective. Communication Research 14 (1987) 553-574
59. Trevino L.K., Lengel R.H., Gerloff E.A., and Muir N.K. The richness imperative and cognitive styles: The role of individual differences media choice behavior. Management Communication Quarterly 4 (1990) 176-197
60. Trevino L.K., Webster J., and Stein E.W. Making connections: Complementary influences on communication media choices, attitudes, and use. Organization Science 11 (2000) 163-182
61. Tsujimura, A. (1987). Some characteristics of the Japanese way of communication. In: D.L. Kincaid (Ed.), Communication theory: Eastern and western perspectives (pp. 115-126).
62. UCLA Center for communication Policy. (2003). Available at: 〈http://www.ccp.ucla.edu/pdf/UCLA-Internet-Report-Year-Three. pdf〉.
63. Webster J., and Trevino L.K. Rational and social theories as complementary explanations of communication media choices: Two policy-capturing studies. Academy of Management Journal 38 (1995) 1544-1572
64. Westmyer S.A., DiCioccio R.L., and Rubin R.B. Appropriateness and effectiveness of communication channels in competent interpersonal communication. Journal of communication 48 (1998) 27-48