The effects of media richness on decision -making under uncertainty.
Item
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Title
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The effects of media richness on decision -making under uncertainty.
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Identifier
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AAI3103122
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identifier
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3103122
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Creator
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Johnson, Norman Anthony.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Richard Holowczak
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Date
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2003
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Business Administration, Management | Economics, General
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Abstract
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Media richness theory holds that managers (or decision-makers) should use rich media, which have significant information-carrying capacity, to process information for complex tasks (Daft and Lengel, 1984). From a social perspective and in a normative sense, media richness theory has been largely supported by early research that used perceptual metrics, such as self-reporting in surveys and predetermined standards or references. However, some studies that have used direct metrics for essential constructs, such as task characteristics, performance measures, and media usage, found mixed support for the theory (Rice, 1992; Kinney and Watson, 1992; Valacich et al, 1994).;Understanding the relationship between media richness and risk propensity may explain many conflicting results in previous research studies on performance from the media richness perspective. Furthermore, it will be valuable to assess the theory in the context of decision-making tasks under uncertainty. Accordingly, this research study examines how media richness affects decision-making, subjective judgment, and risk propensity.;In this study, different communications channels are used in a laboratory setting to investigate how media richness affects decision-making under uncertainty. Pairs of experimental subjects participated in a trading game, using pre-assigned communications channels to conduct negotiation for the exchange of notional lottery tickets and points. Two types of tickets, which were derived from risk averse and risk prone utility functions, are traded between research subjects.;The study shows that increasing or decreasing richness of media does not uniformly alter decision-making constructs, such as message significance, message representation, and subjective judgment. The findings indicate, among other things, that individuals tend to center their decision making on fewer unrelated ideas or less divergent perspectives in rich media; and that irrespective of the risk induced preference situation, individuals tend to ascribe more importance and meaning to messages conveyed when using an instant messaging communications medium.;Communications media are varied and are rapidly becoming more ubiquitous. Therefore investigating the impact of these media on decision-making can help us to better appropriate them to suitable settings---in the design of decision support systems and in the domain of decision framing research.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
