When & Why Leaders Utilize ICTs as a Communication Tool? A Complex Orientation Approach

Managers face a myriad of tasks and responsibilities. Some require significant engagement in e-communication with ICT platforms while others don’t. In what kinds of managerial tasks is the utilization of e-communications... [ view full abstract ]

Managers face a myriad of tasks and responsibilities. Some require significant engagement in e-communication with ICT platforms while others don’t. In what kinds of managerial tasks is the utilization of e-communications critical? This study uses an experiment, at a group/team study setting designed for a task of process and decision complexity, to answer this question. The results suggest that ideal circumstances for a managerial leader to engage extensive e-communication activities include vague goals require a continual redefinition and consensus building process, and complex task processes that require frequent monitoring/
reporting or collaboration/engagement among followers, tasks that have been proving difficult in traditional face-to-face communications such as long distance in job locations, and tasks where precedential and subsequent success in e-communications have been established. There are discrepancies between leader and follower perspectives on what constitutes key task-oriented factors leading to effective e-communications. While social costs are important for the follower; it has virtually no impact on the leader. The results are used to generate hypotheses for future testing.