کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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1025026 | 941780 | 2008 | 19 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
Empirical research provides evidence that electronic communication does not change government agencies into post-bureaucratic organizations. Structuration Theory is used to explore the interaction between e-mail use, communication patterns of civil servants, and two bureaucratic characteristics: formalization and hierarchy. Previous research suggested that the use of e-mail leads to less formalization and less hierarchy, but empirical research in three bureaucratic organizations in the Netherlands leads to different conclusions. First, the use of e-mail leads to informal formalization: the style of communication is more informal but the content focuses less on personal issues and emphasizes efficient recordings of agreements. Second, the use of e-mail leads to hierarchical horizontalization: horizontal contacts take a more central position in bureaucratic organizations but these horizontal contacts are tightly linked to vertical structures. The result of the interaction between e-mail and government bureaucracy is horizontal communication directly linked to vertical structures. Electronic communication turns government agencies into late-bureaucratic organizations.
Journal: Government Information Quarterly - Volume 25, Issue 3, July 2008, Pages 429–447