Abstract

Media Richness Theory (MRT) argues that within any work organization, the performance of employees and managers improve when using â richer' media for equivocal tasks. The main goal of this study is to assess the predictions made by Media Richness Theory that richer communication is better for tasks which are perceived to be equivocal. The employees' media selection behavior was assessed in accordance with the MRT to test its validity and application. This study sought to evaluate whether or not the assumptions made by MRT hold across the different cultural settings within organizations by distinguishing between high-context collectivistic cultures and low-context individualistic ones. To test this, a cross-cultural study of 312 employees and managers in Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Bahrain representing high-context collectivistic cultures, and Canada, USA, UK, Germany, France, Czech Republic, and Switzerland representing low-context individualistic cultures was conducted. Based on the results, the applicability of MRT in organizations and across cultures was discussed.

Department

Journalism & Mass Communication Department

Degree Name

MA in Journalism & Mass Communication

Graduation Date

6-1-2010

Submission Date

May 2010

First Advisor

Abdulla, Rasha

Second Advisor

Amin, Hussein

Extent

NA

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Mass media -- Social aspects.

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Communication in organizations.

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

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