The social construction of meaning: An alternative perspective on information sharing

    Authors

    S. M. Miranda;C. S. Saunders

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Inf. Syst. Res.

    Keywords

    communication media; group support systems; social construction of; meaning; intersubjective interpretation; social presence; information; sharing; decision quality; task closure; GROUP DECISION-MAKING; MEDIA RICHNESS; ELECTRONIC MAIL; COMMUNICATION; SUPPORT; TASK; RELIABILITY; TECHNOLOGY; SOPHOMORE; EXCHANGE; Information Science & Library Science; Management

    Abstract

    Research on information sharing has viewed this activity as essential for informing groups on content relevant to a decision. We propose and examine an alternate function of information sharing, i.e., the social construction of meaning. To accomplish this goal, we turn to social construction, social presence, and task closure theories. Drawing from these theories, we hypothesize relationships among the meeting environment, breadth and depth of information shared during a meeting, and decision quality. We explore these relationships in terms of the effects of both the media environment in which the group is situated and the medium that group members choose to utilize for their communication. Our study of 32, 5- and 6-person groups supports our belief that interpretation underlies information sharing and is necessary for favorable decision outcomes. It also supports the proposed negative effect of low social presence media on interpretation in terms of depth of information sharing; a low social presence medium, however, promotes information sharing breadth. Finally, the findings indicate that when in multimedia environments and faced with a relatively complex task, choosing to utilize an electronic medium facilitates closure and, therefore, favorable outcomes.

    Journal Title

    Information Systems Research

    Volume

    14

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2003

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    87

    Last Page

    106

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000183279100005

    ISSN

    1047-7047

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