The IRMA Community
Newsletters
Research IRM
Click a keyword to search titles using our InfoSci-OnDemand powered search:
|
Understanding Gender Differences in the Use of Instant Messaging
Abstract
Increasingly, Instant Messaging (IM) has been accepted as a communication and collaboration tool in many organizations (Hu, Wilcox, and Hansen 2002). Ferris Research predicted that the number of IM users will reach 183 million by 2007. Unlike other communication tools such as email and groupware, however, IM was initially designed for home users as a social networking tool to connect families and friends via the Internet and only gained its popularity in business after individual users started using IM as a substitute for face-to-face communication with co-workers. Thus, the adoption and use of IM in organizations have some unique characteristics. First, many corporate users may have had prior experience with IM before they begin to use it for business purposes. Second, the inherent social features of IM may affect how business users interact with each other and possibly change the ways in which business tasks are accomplished. These characteristics could have significant implications for promoting and managing IM use in organizations.
|
|