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__Overview:__

 * Context of MRT:**



The **Media Richness Theory** was molded from two different aspects of theories known as the Contingency Theory also known as the Information Processing Theory. Thus paving the way for two researchers in the late 1980’s, **Richard Daft** and **Robert H. Lengel** succeeded in bringing about this new theory. Thus Daft and Lengel were proposing that this theory is used to describe how much of a discrepancy their is among the usage of communication mediums and how it will continue to evolve as time goes on. Daft and Lengel theory proposes that the richer the medium is, it should be used to convey more intricate messages, while lean mediums will only pertain to the unsophisticated messages. This theory will continue to foreshadow how communication mediums affect our every day lives whether it be for business or personal.


 * Media Richness Theory (MRT) Explained:**

The Media Richness Theory is used to explain the process and choice of different mediums of communication to deliver and receive the message. MRT is used to examine how adequate a person is able to communicate with another person through the means of a medium that will leave the most successful impression on the person communicating. Through rich and lean mediums we clearly see the differences that have outlined how many of us today chose to communicate today. **Rich mediums** reflects the more technological ways used to deliver and receive a message today. Some examples of rich media would be using a video conferencing on Skype that contains audio and visual, chatting on an instant messenger with colleagues, and the use of Wimba classroom associated with college online classes today. These are examples are Rich because their can be "instant feedback", "physical presence, voice inflection, body gestures, words, and data can be streamed" , "the use of natural language" , and "the personal focus on the medium" (Cheer, P. 224). If a communication medium has most or all of these qualities it would be considered "Richer". While **Lean mediums** may be the more classical way people chose to communicate. Thus, an example of lean media would be mailing a letter to another friend, emailing, or texting. These examples are lean mediums because they take more time to send the message, their is no face to face, and you cannot hear or speak anything from the messenger.



__Important Concepts:__
The media richness theory is made up of several components and concepts that have slightly changed over time. Introduced in 1984 by Richard L. Daft and Robert H. Lengel, the media richness theory is used to evaluate the effectiveness of communication mediums and its goal is to analyze communication issues within organizations. The media richness theory is based off two assumptions that people want to limit the number of meanings of messages when communicating and people want to use a variety of media that allows for more efficient communication. Daft and Lengel created a media richness hierarchy that is comprised of a scale from high to low that shows the degrees of richness and communication mediums are placed upon this scale based on their effectiveness. Mediums are categorized from four components; immediacy, multiple cues, language variety and personal source. Immediacy refers to the possibility of instant feedback, multiple cues refers to body language, voice tone and inflection, language variety refers to the use of language that is used and personal source refers to the medium's focus. Each of the four concepts relates to one another because collectively they form the basis of how to analyze and scale the effectiveness of a medium. The media richness theory, which considers how personal a message is, is based off the information processing theory, which studies the way in which people learn something new.

Over time, the media richness theory has not undergone drastic changes but since first introduced, theory has been studied and tested by various scholars. Communication scholars have tried to improve the theory and it has been adapted to include new communication mediums and several articles have been written about the theory. Several new theories such as the media naturalness theory which says that the most natural method of communication is face-to-face communication, and the media synchronicity theory which helps to explain media richness have been derived from the media richness theory. The channel expansion theory, the adaptive structuration theory and the social information processing theory are also all related to the media richness theory. The media richness theory is constantly being studied and adapted in order to include new mediums and account for the rapidly changing technologies in today's society. It is also being studied in order to improve the effectiveness of a variety of difference communication mediums and to lessen the possibility of equivocality.

1. Hong Kong adolescents' use of MSN vs ICQ for developing friendships online: considering media richness and control
By: Chris Torres



In the article, "Hong Kong adolescents' use of MSN vs. ICQ for developing friendships online: considering media richness and presentational control" researchers focused on two main theories to compare two instant messengers (IM) MSN the more sophisticated IM vs ICQ the more classic instant messenger to find out which is more favored. The researchers examined on the different features both of the instant messengers offered to its users. These researchers hoped to find out how teens could use an instant messenger to develop friendships across the internet. In order to come to a conclusion the researchers chose to administer a questionnaire to 180 young teens in which they finished it anonymously. They came to find out that most teens found MSN a more richer medium than ICQ.

The Media Richness Theory claims that if a medium contains the abilities that come close to communicating like face to face interaction it would be a richer medium. Thus a lean medium would be considered one that takes longer to deliver the message and is less confrontational. Presentational control explains that if a user is able to control over their information in how they can depict their image to thus be seen more favored among others. This is a key characteristic among young teens these days in projecting themselves to almost make themselves seem more likeable online.

A questionnaire was administered to 180 young teens in Hong Kong in which researchers compared two free instant messengers (IM) MSN and ICQ. The teenagers kept their identities hidden to complete the questionnaire. The researchers compared the two IM's using the Media Richness Theory and Presentational Control, in which the study came to the conclusion that MSN was an all around richer medium than ICQ. MSN is known as a richer medium because of the qualities favored by the users that allow them to interact with each other closely resembling face to face interaction and how much of the interface they can manipulate. This study exposed how much MSN has evolved since it became existent and revealed how much ICQ had not changed to become as popular as MSN. Presentational control was a key element in how these young teenagers were able to decide that MSN was the more richer medium. They liked how much users could control information that pertained to their image that would be seen to all the other users on their contact lists.

Thus this study has shown us that because MSN contained the more sophisticated features that associated itself to the media richness theory and also allowed users to present themselves in a manner they seemed fit associated itself with the presentational control. All this has led the researchers to believe that MSN does work to allow users to develop a better friendship than if they used ICQ instant messenger. This implied that MSN instant messenger was more richer and had better presentational control because it developed more technological and in a faster pace than did ICQ. The only thing this study yielded was how many number of friendships were acquainted through the association with the mass use of MSN over ICQ instant messenger.

Sheer, V. C. (2010). Hong Kong adolescents' use of MSN vs. ICQ for developing friendships online: considering media richness and presentational control. //Chinese Journal Of Communication//, //3//(2), 223-240. doi:10.1080/17544751003740409 Hong Kong adolescents' use of MSN vs. ICQ for Developing friendships online: considering media richness and presentational control

==2. Teenagers' Use of MSN Features, Discussion Topics, and Online Friendship Development: The Impact of **Media****Richness**and Communication Control. == by Ariana Carrillo

In the article "Teenagers' Use of MSN Features, Discussion Topics, and Online Friendship Development: The Impact of Media Richness and Communication Control" Vivian C. Sheer, an associate professor at in the Department of Communication Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University conducted a study to analyze the impact of media richness and communication control on teenagers' use of MSN to create online friendships. Sheer studied the impact of the media richness and how it contributed to the effectiveness of a teenagers' friendship development and she found that overall media richness and communication control helped to explain teenagers' use of MSN features and online friendship development.

Sheer took a sample of 248 teenagers from Hong Kong and examined their MSN use patterns to understand how they interacted with others online. Sheer asked the adolescents to rate five different features of MSN such as contact lists, people search, messaging, webcam and MSN spaces (secondary features) and also asked them a series of questions in order to better understand the composition of the teenagers' contact lists. After studying and analyzing the results, Sheer concluded that both media richness and communication control contributed to MSN's effectiveness and the teenagers' friendship development. Media richness influenced the communication between the teenagers and significantly lessened the time it took for a teenager to turn a stranger into a friend. MSN features such as webcam allowed for an increased number of friendships to be created and the messaging feature helped to build close relationships and friendships.

Sheer states that "the concept of media richness has provided a foundation for understanding human behavior involving electronic communication media" the richness of a medium consists of the ability to receive instant feedback, the use of multiple communication "cues", the use of natural language to covey ideas, and a personal focus. The more a medium possesses these qualities, the more rich it is which allows for the ability to have stronger, quicker communication. The results from this study can be applied to everyday situations by using the concepts that stem from it to understand how effective certain mediums are for allowing for effective communication. This was evident from Sheer's results when she found that media richness positively influenced social and task communications and shortened the time needed to turn a stranger into a friend.

Sheer, V. C. (2011). Teenagers' use of msn features, discussion topics, and online friendship development: The impact of media richness and communication control. //Communication Quarterly //, //59 //(1), 82-103. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.sdsu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=777ee8ac-db9a-4251-9e7a-1df49b0c3fe5@sessionmgr112&vid=4&hid=123 [|Teenagers' Use of MSN Features, Discussion Topics, and Online Friendship Development: The Impact of Media Richness and Communication Control]

==3. Improving Media Richness Theory: A Study of Interaction Goals, Message Valence, and Task Complexity in Manager-Subordinate Communication == by Nick Caraska

The article “Improving Media Richness Theory: A Study of Interaction Goals, Message Valence, and Task Complexity in Manager-Subordinate Communication” was about adding on to the existing Media Richness Theory. The original Media Richness Theory was only concerned about instrumental goals, or task efficiency. It says that a manager will use the medium of communication, either rich or lean, that would most help get the subordinate to understand the task. For example, if the task is equivocal, they will use a richer medium and if the task is clearly defined, they will use a leaner medium. The original Media Richness Theory also makes no distinction between the differences of an equivocal task and a complex task.

In this paper, authors Vivian Sheer and Ling Chen are out to prove that manager-subordinate communication is not just affected by instrumental goals, but also by relational and self-presentational goals. Managers want to have good relations with their subordinates and they want to maintain a positive image too. Sheer and Chen also argue that message valence, whether the message is positive or negative, also affects communication. Not surprisingly, managers feel that they can deliver a positive message more clearly and comfortably than a negative message. Now, the difference between task complexity and equivocality becomes more distinguished. When delivering a negative message, the communication becomes more complex but the equivocality remains the same as a positive message. As a result, managers tend to choose leaner forms of communication when delivering negative messages.

Sheer and Chen designed a survey to test whether their arguments could have and affect on the Media Richness Theory. They asked participants different questions on delivering positive and negative messages. The results they found supported their idea that the Media Richness Theory was too one-dimensional. Not only are managers concerned about task efficiency but they also care about relational and self-presentational goals. The modes of media they choose to convey messages with depends on these goals. Sheer and Chen found that “instrumental goals necessitate concern for task equivocality, whereas relational and self-presentational goals bring forth the issues of task complexity and possible conflicts among goals.” (pg 90)

Sheer, V. C., & Chen, L. (2004). Improving media richness theory: a study of interactional goals, message valence, and task complexity in manager-subordinate communication. //Management Communication Quarterly//, 18(1), 76-93. [|http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.sdsu.edu/docview/216291686/fulltextPDF?accountid=13758#]

4. Development of the Parental Academic Support Scale: Frequency, Importance, and Modes of Communication
In the article "Development of the Parental Academic Support Scale: Frequency, Importance, and Modes of Communication", assistant professors Blair Thompson and Joseph P. Mazer did a series of studies to assess the different modes of communication that parents use in order to communicate with teachers at various school levels. Thompson and Mazer also assessed the importance and frequency of this parental support. They conducted the study in two phases; phase one explains how they developed the Parent Academic Support Scale (PASS) and phase two implements the use of the media richness theory to explore and analyze the different mediums of communication that parents use to communicate with teachers.

The professors generated a topic list and parents and teachers were interviewed in order to gather information regarding which mediums parents and teachers felt allowed for more effectively communication and school support. 191 parents participated in the online survey which was broken into four categories of academic performance, classroom behavior, child welfare, and scheduling meetings. The participants answered how often each of the types of support occurred over the past month and the researchers found that there was a positive relationship between academic support and relationship satisfaction. Thompson and Mazer found that parents who communication often with a teacher about their child's academic performance will feel happy with the amount of support received but they also found that the parent's perception of how the child is succeeding in school also has a large affect. Media richness theory research led the professors to conclude that rich media allows for parents to communicate personal information more effectively than when they used other mediums such as written documents or e-mails. Thompson and Mazer also concluded that parents often used learner media, such as e-mail, to discuss negative issues because of the convenience factor and parents and teachers showed great concern about having as much communication as possible in order to help the child. As the media richness theory says, parents selected richer modes if they wanted to receive immediate feedback and in order to communicate more difficult messages. Parents preferred using rich mediums for major issues but preferred to use learner mediums for minor issues.

Thompson, B., & Mazer, J. (2012). Development of the parental academic support scale: Frequency, importance, and modes of communication.//Communication Education//, //61//(2), 131-160. Retrieved from [|Development of the Parental Academic Support Scale: Frequency, Importance, and Modes of Communication]

5. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The Role of Media Richness in Information Technology-Supported Communication in Group Cohesion, Agreeability, and Performance
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the article "The Role of Media Richness in Information Technology-Supported Communication in Group Cohesion, Agreeability, and Performance", Michael B. Knight, Michael J. Pearson and Scott D. Hunsinger conducted a study to identify important differences between groups that used specific media. The researchers studied differences in the ability to communicate cohesion, the change in a group's cohesion and the group's agreeability and performance. Knight, Pearson and Hunsinger were interested in this topic because communication is dependent on media richness and individual characteristics of the media user. Individuals who participate in group projects and assignments must be able to communicate effectively and cohesively and difference modes of communication can lead to various outcomes.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The researchers measured groups for cohesiveness and agreeability at the beginning of the project and again at the end of the project after the feedback was given back. Knight, Pearson and Hunsinger concluded that the communication medium does have an impact on the group's cohesion and thus, impacting the relationship among group members. The professors found that cohesion is directly related to performance and make several suggestions as to how to improve performance on group projects.They suggest that the choice of technology in regards to communication should be considered carefully and that organizations give groups more opportunities for richer communication on a more regular basis. The researchers also suggest that more than communication mediums are used to complete group projects.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Knight, M., Pearson, M., & Hunsinger, S. (2008). The role of media richness in information technology-supported communication in group cohesion, agreeability, and performance. //ProQuest//, //20//(4), 23-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.sdsu.edu/docview/199923095 <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">[|The Role of Media Richness in Information Technology-Supported Communication in Group Cohesion, Agreeability, and Performance]

Analysis of Studies:
The studies we have chosen all help to clarify what the Media Richness Theory seeks to identify. The Media Richness Theory classifies mediums of communication based on several criteria. These include the availability for feedback, the language used, or if it is personal or not. A rich form of media communication allows for instant feedback, natural language, physical presence, and a personal touch. Face to face contact is the richest form of communication while bulk mail may be the leanest.

The articles we have chosen all have one special thing in common, and it is that they were written by Vivian Sheer. An expert on Media Richness Theory, Sheer has done a significant amount of research on this topic. The articles we have chosen demonstrate different sides of the same theory. The first article explains why kids would choose a certain IM over another. Because of the MSN’s rich way of communicating, more kids prefer it over ICQ. The second article recounts how Sheer again studied MSN and the way it communicates. MSN is a very rich medium of communication and Sheer proved that it helped speed up the friendship process in adolescents. Finally, the third article was about expanding the Media Richness Theory. It added several other factors as to why somebody might choose a rich or lean medium of communication.

Overall, the studies we found demonstrate the difference between a rich form of communication and a leaner form. Rich mediums of communication lead to increased and more personal contact between people. The studies have also shown people may prefer a rich or lean medium of communication in different settings. When talking with friends online and being social, people want a richer medium. But a manager who has to deliver a simple task to a subordinate may want to just use a leaner form of communication. The studies all help to explain what the Media Richness Theory is about.

__Current and Future State of MRT:__
The current State of Media Richness Theory from my point of view is that it is healthy and will always be a part of our daily lives as long as we live in this world. Communication through technology will only enhance us in every way possible to get a message along to another person. Through its specific attributes mediums can only be known as rich or lean. In our society, business and everyday people will always communicate through rich or lean mediums. But as our society continues to evolve through technology we will continue to use more rich mediums to get a message to another person we want to contact. I believe we will continue to focus on this theory and it will revolutionize as technology grows. Focusing more on this theory will help us understand truly how we can communicate better with other people. Finding new ways to communicate will always push us to revolutionize the mediums as we know them. The lean mediums are slowly drifting away but some of us still focus and use them in our everyday lives and keep them around. Thus we are seeing society slowly move into a more technological era and rather rely on lean mediums to communicate we are focusing on enhancing rich mediums to be able to communicate faster to get a message and receive an answer more quickly.

The future state of The Media Richness Theory to me is that it will continue to evolve as we humans continue to invent new ways of communication. We always want to move in a fast pace and want the message sent faster and want to receive the answer quicker. Thus in a society that is changing every so often we will continue to see more rich mediums being created to tend to our everyday need. Lean mediums will still be there for us to use but this sense of technological era is continuing as every day passes. Technological scientists are coming up with better ways for us to communicate at a faster rate. While lean mediums will continue to stay the same but will soon be affected by rich mediums in the sense they need to be revolutionized to be able to keep up with the pace us humans want to communicate in. Rich mediums are becoming more convenient ways for us to communicate in and they are becoming more relied upon among us today. We will always need to update this theory for the new technological enhancements it will face when new ways to communicate are theorized.