The Media Toolbox – Combining Media in Organizational Communication

Much of the research on media use in organizations has tended to focus on the use of one medium in isolation from the other media in the organization.  Yet the proliferation of communication technologies, especially Internet-based technologies, combined with work configurations such as hybrids of virtual and co-located work, has made it more likely that organizational members will use multiple media, at least some of the time, to communicate.  In addition, physical work—work involving bodily skill and manual effort—is also being affected by the adoption and use of new media technologies.  This study of a regional facilities group in a Fortune 500 company explores how the use of both single and multiple media in a hybrid work configuration can facilitate a variety of rich and complex interactions.   We found that organizational members used single and multiple media to support individual as well as concurrent interactions. We conclude by proposing the notion of an organizational “media toolbox” on which organizational members can draw to use different media alone or in combination, to accomplish both individual and concurrent conversations.

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