The development of a construct for measuring an individual´s perceptions of Email as a medium for electronic communication in organizations

Several information systems and computer-mediated communication studies in the literature measure user´s perceptions of E-mail. The user´s perceptions of E-mail were used to develop and validate the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). While a user´s perceptions of E-mail play an important role in the literature, very few studies have focused solely on developing a construct for measuring these perceptions. In this paper, we develop a construct to measure an individual´s perceptions of E-mail as a medium for electronic communication in organizations. Using a survey of management and nonmanagement employees in northeastern USA, we empirically test our theoretical construct. The results of our research indicate that an individual´s perceptions of E-mail are a multidimensional construct with two dimensions: the individual level dimension and the organizational level. At an individual level, a person´s perceptions may be impacted by E-mail´s role in improving productivity, supporting team work, and providing global reach. At an organizational level a person´s perceptions may be impacted by E-mail´s role in making an organization vulnerable to viruses, exposing proprietary information, and/or encouraging unprofessional and illegal behavior.