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The Gratification Niches of Personal E-mail and the Telephone

Competition, Displacement, and Complementarity

SUSAN KLINE

LAURA STAFFORD

The theory of the niche predicts that a new medium will compete with established media for consumer satisfaction, consumer time, and / or consumer advertising dollars. Competition between e-mail and telephone use was measured in this study at the level of gratifications derived by consumers. Gratifications and gratification opportunities (consumers' beliefs that a medium allows them to obtain greater opportunities for satisfaction) were derived from an analysis of open-ended questions. A second sample was interviewed by telephone and rated both mediums on gratification and gratification-opportunity scales. Forty-eight percent of respondents reported using the phone less since they adopted e-mail. Results indicate that a wider spectrum of needs is being served by the telephone, whereas e-mail provides greater gratification opportunities. The results indicate competition, but also indicate that the two mediums are not close substitutes.

Communication Research, Vol. 27, No. 2, 227-248 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/009365000027002005


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