The Social Construction of Meaning: An Alternative Perspective on Information Sharing

Abstract

Research on information sharing has viewed this activity as essential for informing groups on content relevant to a decision. We propose and examine an alternate function of information sharing, i.e., the social construction of meaning. To accomplish this goal, we turn to social construction, social presence, and task closure theories. Drawing from these theories, we hypothesize relationships among the meeting environment, breadth and depth of information shared during a meeting, and decision quality. We explore these relationships in terms of the effects of both the media environment in which the group is situated and the medium that group members choose to utilize for their communication Our study of 32, 5- and 6-person groups supports our belief that interpretation underlies information sharing and is necessary for favorable decision outcomes. It also supports the proposed negative effect of low social presence media on interpretation in terms of depth of information sharing; a low social presence medium, however, promotes information sharing breadth. Finally, the findings indicate that when in multimedia environments and faced with a relatively complex task, choosing to utilize an electronic medium facilitates closure and, therefore, favorable outcomes.

Impact of Multitasking on Listening Effectiveness in the Learning Environment

“…In the multitasking environment, the perceived degree of social presence was the same in the virtual-and live-presenter conditions. This research also did not find evidence that the physical presence of the sender can influence the recipients' understanding of the message (Miranda & Saunders, 2003). The findings did not support the hypothesis that, in the virtual-presenter condition, it is more likely that specific comments are entirely ignored as individuals are unable to perceive others' urgency and consequential emotional reactions.…”

“…Short, et al's (1976) study suggests that individuals can effectively transmit and receive a broader range of verbal and non-verbal cues in face-to-face meeting than during an audio conference. Accordingly, traditional, unmediated face-to-face verbal communication provides the highest social presence (Miranda & Saunders, 2003), whereas computer-supported media provide lower social presence and virtual groups also experience relatively low social presence (Miranda & Saunders, 2003;Roberts, Lowry, & Sweeney, 2006). Miranda and Saunders (2003) advocate that the presence of the sender influences the recipients' understanding of the message.…”

“…Accordingly, traditional, unmediated face-to-face verbal communication provides the highest social presence (Miranda & Saunders, 2003), whereas computer-supported media provide lower social presence and virtual groups also experience relatively low social presence (Miranda & Saunders, 2003;Roberts, Lowry, & Sweeney, 2006). Miranda and Saunders (2003) advocate that the presence of the sender influences the recipients' understanding of the message. They broaden social presence theory by acknowledging that the presence of others, including (but not limited to) the message sender, influences the nature and success of intersubjective interpretation.…”

“…They broaden social presence theory by acknowledging that the presence of others, including (but not limited to) the message sender, influences the nature and success of intersubjective interpretation. Miranda and Saunders (2003) state, "… intersubjective interpretation is ill suited to media low in social presence… low social presence makes it more likely that specific comments will be entirely ignored since individuals are unable to perceive others' urgency and consequential emotional reactions" (p.89).…”

“…Computer mediated communication has lower social presence than other forms of communication (Miranda & Saunders, 2003;Roberts, Lowry, & Sweeney, 2006).Consequently, a low degree of social presence can diminish the receiver's understanding of the message, suggesting that virtual meetings or distance classes may have lower overall outcomes for quality, satisfaction and productivity. There is no scientific evidence on exactly how the degree of social presence influences the multitask performance.…”