Email adaptation for conflict handling: A case study of cross‐border inter‐organisational partnership in East Asia

Abstract

This paper explores the context of email‐based communication in an established but fragile, inter‐organisational partnership, which was often overlain with conflict. Drawing upon adaptation theory, this study explores how participants adapt to the use of email to handle conflict. Extensive data were obtained during a 6‐month field study of a case of cross‐border inter‐organisational collaboration in East Asia. We observed that the individuals involved in the cross‐border partnership used email as a lean form of communication to stop covert conflict from explicitly emerging. In contrast to prior research on the leanness of email in managing conflict, we found that under the described conflict situation the very leanness of email was appreciated and thus, exploited by those concerned to manage the conflict situation. Specifically, we identified 4 key conflict‐triggered adaptation strategies, namely, interaction avoidance, disempowering, blame‐protection, and image‐sheltering that drove the ways in which email was adapted to maintain organisational partnerships under conflict.

Appropriating Information Technology Artefacts through Trial and Error: The Case of the Tablet

“…Revisions of IT use concern primarily the way users revise their IT use due to novel and challenging situations when users are faced with discrepancies or other deliberate initiatives (Sun 2012 ). Such revisions allow users to meet their needs and overcome inadequacies of IT and processes (Lee et al 2018 ). Within this context, users may try new features, substitute older ones, or combine some and even repurpose them, in their attempt to make better use of existing and new IT features, functions and extensions (Sun 2012 ).…”

Fostering work engagement in geographically-dispersed and asynchronous virtual teams

“…As they all had access to email, this medium became their main means of communication. This should not be surprising, for as mentioned above, email remains the most dominant communication medium in business activities world-wide (Lee et al, 2018). Further to email, the contractors were expected to use the Omikron's online collaborative tool for accessing and uploading files.…”

“…Some technologies involve collaborative and real-time meeting tools, whilst others comprise asynchronous communication, such as emails. Despite the increasing popularity of emerging technologies, empirical studies show that email continues to be the dominant means of communications (Jung and Lyytinen, 2014) even when organizations operate in the hightech sector (Lee et al, 2018). Based on this, our research question is: How can VT leaders contribute to VT members' engagement when their work highly depends on asynchronous communication media?…”

Understanding adaptive information seeking in the context of microblogging from the cognitive switching perspective

“…System modularity positively moderates the effect of system self-efficacy on extended use. Lee et al (2018) examined how users adapt to the use of email to handle conflict. Four key conflict-triggered adaptation strategies were identified, namely, interaction avoidance, blame-protection, disempowering and image-sheltering.…”