Effectiveness of Communication Technologies for Distributed Business Meetings
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Effectiveness of Communication Technologies for Distributed Business Meetings Willem Standaert 2015 Advisors: Prof. dr. Steve Muylle Prof. dr. Amit Basu Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Applied Economic Sciences Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too. Michael Jordan DOCTORAL COMMITTEE Prof. dr. Marc De Clercq Ghent University, Dean Prof. dr. Patrick Van Kenhove Ghent University, Academic Secretary Prof. dr. Steve Muylle Ghent University & Vlerick Business School, Advisor Prof. dr. Amit Basu Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, Advisor Prof. dr. Derrick Gosselin Ghent University; University of Oxford & Royal Military Academy of Belgium Prof. dr. Deva Rangarajan Ghent University & Vlerick Business School Prof. dr. Öykü Isik Vlerick Business School Prof. dr. Sirkka Jarvenpaa The University of Texas at Austin Prof. dr. Dov Te’eni Tel Aviv University Business School ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my appreciation to the people who have contributed to making this dissertation possible. I wish to express my deepest gratitude towards my advisors, Prof. dr. Steve Muylle and Prof. dr. Amit Basu. Without their extensive advice, support, and high-quality input, I could not have brought this dissertation to a successful end. They incited me to reach my full potential and guided me in becoming an independent researcher. I feel privileged to have worked with these two exceptional scholars, and wish to continue the fruitful collaborations. Great gratitude goes to all the member of my examination committee: Prof. dr. Marc De Clercq (Dean), Prof. dr. Patrick Van Kenhove (Academic Secretary), Prof. dr. Derrick Gosselin, Prof. dr. Deva Rangarajan, Prof. dr. Öykü Isik, Prof. dr. Sirkka Jarvenpaa, and Prof. dr. Dov Te’eni. I sincerely appreciate the time and effort they put into thoroughly reading my dissertation and preparing questions. I am convinced the quality of my work has improved because of their insightful comments and suggestions. Special gratitude goes to the external members of my jury. I am truly honored that these highly respected scholars accepted to be part of my committee, and deeply acknowledge their efforts. I am also greatly indebted to many people at the three companies that participated in my doctoral research data collection projects. In particular, the first project started in 2010 with the enthusiasm of Joost Drieman at Cisco. In addition, Pol Vanbiervliet and Bart Vanden Wyngaerd made it possible to collect quantitative data. The follow-up studies at Cisco were conducted in collaboration with Catherine Shinners, Jodi Bradley and Sharon Meaney. I would also like to thank Ronny Luyten, Chris Claes, and Michel Assink for their support in the Diegem offices of Cisco. The research at BNP Paribas was conducted as part of the BNP Paribas Fortis - Vlerick Business School Chair on Technology Banking. I wish to thank the different executives that participated in the Steering Committee meetings (Jacques Godet, Frédéric Mahieu, Gunter Uytterhoeven, and Alex Houtart), as well as Khanh Diep and Ilse Dhondt for their comments and assistance. Finally, a research study collaboration was established with TE Connectivity. I would sincerely like to thank Koen Verweyen, Lauren Miller, Larry Plummer, David Wert, Dave Brown, and Kelly Amaroso for making this possible. I feel very fortunate to have worked as a doctoral student and teaching assistant at the Marketing department of Ghent University, which offers a stimulating and pleasant research environment. Particular gratitude goes to two people, who are essential to the success of this department, Prof. dr. Patrick Van Kenhove and Karin Rigole. I furthermore wish to thank all of my (former) colleagues –the list is very long– who have made the past six years into a fun and memorable time. I am grateful for the many relaxing lunch, sports, and drinks moments we’ve shared. I would like to pay special tribute to the 12 people I’ve shared offices with over the past six years: Matthijs, Bill, Bram, Steven, Michel, Dries, Philippe, Dauwe, Christophe Le, Evelien, Raminta, Yann. I would call some of them friends rather than colleagues. I unquestionably owe a lot to my parents: they have given me every chance possible and supported me unconditionally. The final months of writing this dissertation have been especially intense and stressful. I would like to thank my friends and family for their support and patience during this time, and for reminding me there is a life beyond this dissertation. A final word of gratitude is for Liesbet, Briek, and Renée. I love them deeply and look forward to sharing my life with them. Ghent, June 1st 2015, Willem Standaert ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 3 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS MEETINGS 4 1.1 Changes in organizational structure............................................................................................ 4 1.2 Distributed operations ................................................................................................................ 6 2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS 7 3. DISSERTATION OUTLINE 12 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 15 1. BUSINESS MEETINGS 15 1.1 Business meeting characteristics .............................................................................................. 16 1.2 Business meeting cost ............................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Business meeting support systems............................................................................................ 18 1.4 Business meeting satisfaction and effectiveness ...................................................................... 18 2. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION 19 2.1 Communication media capabilities........................................................................................... 20 2.2 Effectiveness of communication media .................................................................................... 25 2.3 Media choice ............................................................................................................................ 29 2.4 Communication objectives ....................................................................................................... 33 3. SUMMARY 34 CHAPTER III: COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR DISTRIBUTED BUSINESS MEETINGS 39 1. AUDIO-CONFERENCING 39 2. VIDEO-CONFERENCING 39 3. TELEPRESENCE 40 4. BUSINESS MEETING MODE ATTRIBUTES 43 CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH DESIGN 47 1. RESEARCH QUESTION 1 48 1.1 Phase 1: List of business meeting objectives ............................................................................ 48 1.2 Phase 2: Field data collection ................................................................................................... 54 2. RESEARCH QUESTION 2 57 2.1 Phase 1: List of business meeting mode capabilities ................................................................ 57 2.2 Phase 2: Field data collection ................................................................................................... 59 3. RESEARCH QUESTION 3 61 i CHAPTER V: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BUSINESS MEETING MODES 65 4. ANALYSIS OF FREQUENCIES OF OBJECTIVES 65 1.1 Analysis of Study 1 .................................................................................................................. 66 1.2 Analysis of Study 2 .................................................................................................................. 68 2. ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS MEETING MODE EFFECTIVENESS 70 2.1 Analysis of Study 1 .................................................................................................................. 70 2.2 Analysis of Study 2 .................................................................................................................. 74 3. ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HYBRID MEETING MODES 79 4. DISCUSSION 81 4.1 Frequencies of Objectives ........................................................................................................ 81 4.2 Business Meeting Mode Effectiveness ..................................................................................... 82 4.3 The Effectiveness of Hybrid Meeting Modes ........................................................................... 86 CHAPTER VI: THE INFLUENCE OF BUSINESS MEETING MODE CAPABILITIES 91 1. ANALYSIS 91 1.1 Analysis of Study 3 .................................................................................................................. 92 1.2 Analysis of Study 4 .................................................................................................................. 96 2. DISCUSSION 101 2.1 Importance of Business Meeting Mode Capabilities .............................................................. 101 2.2 Explaining Meeting Mode Effectiveness Categories .............................................................. 104 2.3 Beyond Current Meeting Mode Configurations ..................................................................... 106 CHAPTER VII: THE INFLUENCE OF THE NUMBER OF MEETING PARTICIPANTS AND OF THE MEETING DURATION 109 1. ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE NUMBER OF MEETING PARTICIPANTS 109 1.1 Analysis of