This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by DANOWSKI, J. A. Articles by EDISON-SWIFT, P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

CRISIS EFFECTS ON INTRAORGANIZATIONAL COMPUTER-BASED COMMUNICATION

University of Illinois at Chicago

PAUL EDISON-SWIFT

North Central Computer Institute, Madison, Wisconsin

This research examined an organization's change in computer-based communication structures in response to a crisis. All private electronic mail messages were captured in a state extension organization for one year. Month-by-month network analysis revealed that electronic mail patterns changed with the occurrence of a crisis associated with merger, funding changes, and staff positions. Amount of communication increased. Number of communicators increased. Messages became shorter. Individual-level networks became less interlocking. One large user group formed. Finally, communication structures largely returned to baselines without oscillation. Content analysis of messages revealed significant increases in words associated with the organizational changes. This evidence helped rule out rival explanations. The study illustrated some of the advantages of research using computer-based and monitored communication data. Findings from earlier crisis research were testable in a naturalistic, unobtrusive, quantitative case study using network analysis and content analysis.

Communication Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, 251-270 (1985)
DOI: 10.1177/009365085012002005


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. H. Zwijze-Koning and M. D. T. de Jong Auditing Information Structures in Organizations: A Review of Data Collection Techniques for Network Analysis Organizational Research Methods, October 1, 2005; 8(4): 429 - 453. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. W. Park, C.-S. Kim, and G. A. Barnett Socio-Communicational Structure among Political Actors on the Web in South Korea: The Dynamics of Digital Presence in Cyberspace New Media Society, June 1, 2004; 6(3): 403 - 423. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. A. BARNETT A Longitudinal Analysis of the International Telecommunication Network, 1978-1996 American Behavioral Scientist, June 1, 2001; 44(10): 1638 - 1655. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Adkins and D. E. Brashers The Power of Language in Computer-Mediated Groups Management Communication Quarterly, February 1, 1995; 8(3): 289 - 322. [Abstract]

				J. Fulk and B. Boyd Emerging Theories of Communication in Organizations Journal of Management, June 1, 1991; 17(2): 407 - 446. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. E. RICE and G. LOVE Electronic Emotion: Socioemotional Content in a Computer-Mediated Communication Network Communication Research, February 1, 1987; 14(1): 85 - 108. [Abstract]