Computer Mediated Communication and Organizational Culture: An Agent-Based Simulation Model Enrique Canessa Rick L. Riolo Universidad “Adolfo Ibañez” University of Michigan Faculty of Science and Technology Center for the Study of Complex Systems Balmaceda 1620, Viña del Mar, Chile 4477 Randall Lab., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1120, USA E-mail: ecanessa@uai.cl E-mail: rlriolo@umich.edu KEYWORDS Agent-based modeling, organizational communication, organizational culture. ABSTRACT This paper examines the mutual relationship between the organizational use of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and organizational culture (OC). CMC supplements communication among members of an organization to maintain the culture, especially when those persons cannot communicate by other means. On the other hand, a strong OC allows a more effective use of CMC by providing members with some of the necessary common ground to better understand the information exchanged. These relationships are investigated using an agent-based model (ABM). Our ABM incorporates many partial theories into a coherent and fully defined model, which helps formalize and integrate those theories. Although we have empirically validated the ABM, our model allows us to go beyond what can easily be done using empirical research, such as analyzing non-linearities and interaction effects. Additionally, the ABM allows us to investigate dynamics and generate hypotheses that could then be tested using empirical studies. In this paper, we present some of the results of the ABM that show that OC can influence the effectiveness of CMC and that CMC can help maintain and stabilize a culture. INTRODUCTION Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) allows two or more persons who are not physically together to exchange information through a computer system. Many studies have suggested that CMC has the potential to provide tools for enhancing the flow of information in an organization (Fulk and DeSanctis, 1995). However, research aimed at analyzing the effective use of CMC in organizations has arrived to contradictory conclusions. Positivist studies of CMC based on the Information Richness Theory (IRT) (Daft and Lengel, 1986) have found that CMC is inadequate to handle ambiguous situations. On the other hand, interpretivist studies of CMC have shown that CMC can accommodate the exchange of information even in confusing situations. For IRT the communication richness (CR) of a medium explains why this medium is more or less effective. CR refers to the ability of a communication system to transfer enough cues so that individuals can reach an understanding within a short time. For IRT, face-to-face communication is the richest media because it provides immediate feedback and allows the exchange of multiple cues through body language and tone of voice. Since CMC restricts the use of immediate feedback and/or the exchange of multiple cues, IRT views CMC as inherently a medium of low richness. On the other hand, interpretivist studies have shown that organizational members can use CMC (e-mail) to effectively communicate under ambiguous conditions (Lee, 1994; Ngwenyama and Lee, 1997). These studies claim that the richness of any communication medium changes according to the organizational context in which it is used. The person who sends a message and the one who receives it are part of an organizational context, so they not only derive the meaning of the message from the information it provides, but also interpret it taking into account other information they have at their disposal, such as knowledge of the other person, of the situation at hand and of the organization. As one can see, IRT-based studies focus mainly on the intrinsic characteristics of the communication medium and analyze them independently of individual and organizational context. For the interpretivist studies, the attributes of a communication medium are dependent on both the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of the medium. Those extrinsic characteristics originate from the individuals who use it and the organizational context. HYPOTHESES One way to succinctly incorporate organizational context into the analysis of CMC or any other communication system is in terms of OC (Zack and McKenney, 1995). One definition of OC states that it is “a pattern of basic assumptions, invented, discovered or developed by a given group, as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore is to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems“ (Schein, 1990). This definition of OC suggests that OC will contribute to enhancing the possibility of reaching a mutual understanding when members of the organization communicate. Common assumptions tend to homogenize how members handle their work-related problems, by contributing to a common Proceedings 17th European Simulation Multiconference (c) SCS Europe BVBA, 2003 ISBN 3-936150-25-7