The Self-Regulatory Focus as a determinant of Perceived Richness of a Communication Medium

Fernadez, V.; Armengol, X.; Simo, P. (2012). The Self-Regulatory Focus as a Determinant of Perceived Richness of a Communication Medium. International Journal of Applied Industrial Engineering, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijaie.201201010 

Abstract: At present, a large number of theories exist which explain the process for choosing communication media in organizations. Channel expansion theory combines a large part of the theoretical foundation for these theories, suggesting that the perceived richness of a communication medium varies according to experience based on the knowledge of the organization’s members. Equally, Regulatory Focus Theory also suggests that individuals behave in a different way when their self regulation states are different. This investigation intends to present a set of proposals based on the existing literature about how strategy type /focus (promotion and prevention) affects the perception of the richness of a communication medium, increasing the explanatory capacity of channel expansion theory.

Keywords: Channel Expansion, Communication Medium, Media Richness, Organizational Communication, Self-Regulatory Focus.