An exploratory study of the selection of communication media: The relationship between flow and communication outcomes

This study examined how two communication media (e-mail and instant messaging) affected communication outcomes; and, more specifically, how these two media influenced the relationship between flow experience and communication outcomes. An experiment was conducted on a college campus using 94 student subjects. Communication outcomes were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using MANCOVA (multivariate analysis of covariance) and discriminant analysis. Playfulness was used as a covariate. The analysis showed that the e-mail group appeared to have higher communication quality and effectiveness. A significant relationship was found to exist between flow and communication outcomes when the communication medium was e-mail; but no significant relationship was found to exist when the communication medium was instant messaging. Playfulness, a covariate, affected the relationship between the media type and communication outcomes.