Do You Know What I Know? A Shared Understandings Perspective on Text-Based Communication

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In this Subject: <a title="Computer and Information Sciences" href="/content/subcat?j_subject=170&j_availability=">Computer and Information Sciences ,&nbsp; Computer Science
By this author: Dickey, Michael H. ;&nbsp; Wasko, Molly McLure ;&nbsp; Chudoba, Katherine M. ;&nbsp; Bennett Thatcher, Jason

Authors: Dickey, Michael H.; Wasko, Molly McLure; Chudoba, Katherine M.; Bennett Thatcher, Jason

Source: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Volume 12, Number 1, October 2006 , pp. 66-87(22)

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Abstract:

This article illustrates how the hermeneutic analysis of text illuminates how shared understandings affect our interpretations of lean communication in distributed work environments. It is proposed that in contrast to the pessimistic conclusions of media richness theory that lean communication channels cannot support complex or equivocal work tasks, miscommunications are not the result of technology, but rather occur due to a lack of shared understandings among the individuals communicating. An illustrative case study based on fieldwork in franchise organizations is presented to demonstrate the possibilities for how the hermeneutic analysis of coherence, invention, intention, and reference can be used to discover how workers create and recreate shared understandings through text.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00315.x

Publication date: 2006-10-01