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Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications: a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS

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Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications: a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS. / Tan, Chuan Hoo; Sutanto, Juliana; Phang, Chee Wei et al.
In: Information Systems Research, Vol. 25, No. 2, 2014, p. 307-327.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

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Tan CH, Sutanto J, Phang CW, Gasimov A. Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications: a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS. Information Systems Research. 2014;25(2):307-327. Epub 2014 Apr 28. doi: 10.1287/isre.2014.0519

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Tan, Chuan Hoo ; Sutanto, Juliana ; Phang, Chee Wei et al. / Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications : a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS. In: Information Systems Research. 2014 ; Vol. 25, No. 2. pp. 307-327.

Bibtex

@article{529de78e5b3f49e6b24f523867b04b6c,
title = "Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications: a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS",
abstract = "The widespread use of personal communication technologies (PCTs) for commercial message dissemination necessitates understanding that PCTs might lead to better commercial performance in different situations. Building primarily on apparatgeist and social construction theories, this research proposes that consumer responses to PCT-disseminated commercial messages are jointly influenced by the PCT (i.e., technology) that carries general symbolic meanings about its nature and purpose (its “spirit”), and the context culture (i.e., the cultural milieu) in which it is used. We began with focus groups' assessments of two commonly utilized PCTs—email and short message service—which revealed their comparative symbolic meanings in terms of intimacy or formality of communication—to be in line with extant literature. Then, in a commercial setting where retailers leverage PCTs to disseminate product discount coupons, we examined the difference between two distinct environments that differed in their context-cultural dimensions (their cultural milieus of social interaction and communication)—i.e., China (an environment of high context-cultural dimension) and Switzerland (an environment of low context-cultural dimension). To do so, we first validated the context-cultural differences through a survey (study 1) and conducted two matching field experiments in the two countries involving more than one thousand consumers (study 2). Results support our propositions, demonstrating favorable commercial performance for SMS use in the high context-cultural environment and for email use in the low context-cultural environment. Follow-up surveys (study 3) corroborated the results and provided deeper insights into how both PCTs' general meanings and pertinent values in the cultural milieus we studied led to consumer responses. Besides presenting empirical evidence to inform the selection of appropriate PCTs for commercial communications, this research contributes to the theoretical development of apparatgeist and social construction theories via its joint examination of technologies and consumers' environments.",
keywords = "personal communication technology, apparatgeist theory, social construction, context-cultural dimension, multimethod investigation, field experiment",
author = "Tan, {Chuan Hoo} and Juliana Sutanto and Phang, {Chee Wei} and Anar Gasimov",
year = "2014",
doi = "10.1287/isre.2014.0519",
language = "English",
volume = "25",
pages = "307--327",
journal = "Information Systems Research",
issn = "1047-7047",
publisher = "INFORMS Inst.for Operations Res.and the Management Sciences",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Using personal communication technologies for commercial communications

T2 - a cross-cultural investigation of email and SMS

AU - Tan, Chuan Hoo

AU - Sutanto, Juliana

AU - Phang, Chee Wei

AU - Gasimov, Anar

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - The widespread use of personal communication technologies (PCTs) for commercial message dissemination necessitates understanding that PCTs might lead to better commercial performance in different situations. Building primarily on apparatgeist and social construction theories, this research proposes that consumer responses to PCT-disseminated commercial messages are jointly influenced by the PCT (i.e., technology) that carries general symbolic meanings about its nature and purpose (its “spirit”), and the context culture (i.e., the cultural milieu) in which it is used. We began with focus groups' assessments of two commonly utilized PCTs—email and short message service—which revealed their comparative symbolic meanings in terms of intimacy or formality of communication—to be in line with extant literature. Then, in a commercial setting where retailers leverage PCTs to disseminate product discount coupons, we examined the difference between two distinct environments that differed in their context-cultural dimensions (their cultural milieus of social interaction and communication)—i.e., China (an environment of high context-cultural dimension) and Switzerland (an environment of low context-cultural dimension). To do so, we first validated the context-cultural differences through a survey (study 1) and conducted two matching field experiments in the two countries involving more than one thousand consumers (study 2). Results support our propositions, demonstrating favorable commercial performance for SMS use in the high context-cultural environment and for email use in the low context-cultural environment. Follow-up surveys (study 3) corroborated the results and provided deeper insights into how both PCTs' general meanings and pertinent values in the cultural milieus we studied led to consumer responses. Besides presenting empirical evidence to inform the selection of appropriate PCTs for commercial communications, this research contributes to the theoretical development of apparatgeist and social construction theories via its joint examination of technologies and consumers' environments.

AB - The widespread use of personal communication technologies (PCTs) for commercial message dissemination necessitates understanding that PCTs might lead to better commercial performance in different situations. Building primarily on apparatgeist and social construction theories, this research proposes that consumer responses to PCT-disseminated commercial messages are jointly influenced by the PCT (i.e., technology) that carries general symbolic meanings about its nature and purpose (its “spirit”), and the context culture (i.e., the cultural milieu) in which it is used. We began with focus groups' assessments of two commonly utilized PCTs—email and short message service—which revealed their comparative symbolic meanings in terms of intimacy or formality of communication—to be in line with extant literature. Then, in a commercial setting where retailers leverage PCTs to disseminate product discount coupons, we examined the difference between two distinct environments that differed in their context-cultural dimensions (their cultural milieus of social interaction and communication)—i.e., China (an environment of high context-cultural dimension) and Switzerland (an environment of low context-cultural dimension). To do so, we first validated the context-cultural differences through a survey (study 1) and conducted two matching field experiments in the two countries involving more than one thousand consumers (study 2). Results support our propositions, demonstrating favorable commercial performance for SMS use in the high context-cultural environment and for email use in the low context-cultural environment. Follow-up surveys (study 3) corroborated the results and provided deeper insights into how both PCTs' general meanings and pertinent values in the cultural milieus we studied led to consumer responses. Besides presenting empirical evidence to inform the selection of appropriate PCTs for commercial communications, this research contributes to the theoretical development of apparatgeist and social construction theories via its joint examination of technologies and consumers' environments.

KW - personal communication technology

KW - apparatgeist theory

KW - social construction

KW - context-cultural dimension

KW - multimethod investigation

KW - field experiment

U2 - 10.1287/isre.2014.0519

DO - 10.1287/isre.2014.0519

M3 - Journal article

VL - 25

SP - 307

EP - 327

JO - Information Systems Research

JF - Information Systems Research

SN - 1047-7047

IS - 2

ER -