eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

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Nowadays technology is being widely used in almost every aspect of our lives and thus it is essential to understand the role of communication technologies and the ways in which it modifies how we communicate with each other. The research is mainly conducted in the form of case study.

The aims of this research are to identify the capabilities that the communication technologies offer in a target company and how these capabilities are used in practice. Additionally we need to understand how social and situational factors modify the way people use a specific technology. The goal is to understand how the use of communication technologies can affect individual workers’ productivity. Productivity is mainly measured on how communication technologies can enhance individuals in performing communicational activities.

The conclusion of the research indicates that communication technologies do not themselves provide productivity gains. Even though individuals have the knowledge and possibility to use the technologies, they also need to use them in a coherent companywide manner. By introducing a communication technology no gains are achieved. In the worst case, an environment with dispersed communication possibilities can hamper the productivity of a worker.

Furthermore, the research concludes that new communication tools cannot change communication practices inside a company without up-to-date communication culture and guidelines. A company’s communication culture often has a significant impact in guiding how employees communicate. However, the existence of such culture can vary a lot between different companies and teams within companies.