Communicator Trust across Media: A Comparison of Audio Conferencing, Video Conferencing, and a 3D Virtual Environment

Geographically dispersed teams rely on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to communicate and collaborate. Three ICTs that have received attention are audio conferencing (AC), video conferencing (VC), and, recently, 3D virtual environments (3D VEs). These ICTs represent communication media that differ in the number and type of cues available. In this study, the media are compared using a media determinant theories and uncertainty reduction theory. It is argued that differences among these media will impact perceptions of trust toward a communicator. An experimental task was utilized to collect repeated measures data on individual perceptions. Results of the analysis provide partial support for the hypotheses, but the effects seem to change over time. Potential explanations include an unanticipated priming effect due to the repeated measures nature of the survey. This explanation is discussed, along with implications, limitations, and directions for future research.