Information and Communication Technologies in Action

This book combines 20 stories from a variety of organizations with a selection of nine theories, both mainstream and emerging. The stories introduce readers to individuals talking about how they communicate today via information and communication technologies (ICTs) in business or organizational contexts. The theories, presented in accessible language, illuminate the implicit patterns in these stories. This book demonstrates how and why these technologies are used under myriad circumstances. <p>Contents </p><p>Preface </p><p>Introduction</p><p>1. Media Choice and ICT Use </p><p>2. The Role of Credibility and Trust in ICT Studies</p><p>3. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations </p><p>4. A Garbage Can Model of Information Communication Technology Choice </p><p>5. Impression Management and ICTs </p><p>6. Enactment and Sensemaking in Organizations </p><p>7. Giddens’ Structuration Theory and ICTs </p><p>8. Complexity Theories and ICTs </p><p>9. ICT and Culture </p><p>10. The Frustrated Professor </p><p>11. Teaching the Good Old Boys New Tricks: Taking ICTs to the Bank</p><p>12. From Blunt Talk to Kid Gloves: The Importance of Adaptability Across Culture </p><p>13. Slowing Down in the Fast Lane </p><p>14. Serving the Customer Locally Without Moving There: How to Use ICTs to Project a Local Presence</p><p>15. Overloaded But Not Overwhelmed: Communication in Inter-Organizational Relationships</p><p>16. Depending on the Kindness of Strangers: Using Newsgroups for Just-in-Time Learning </p><p>17. Building a Medical Community Using Remote Diagnosis:</p><p>18. Don’t Get Between Me and My Customer: How Changing Jobs Shifts ICT Use </p><p>19. Fighting Uncertainty With Intelligence </p><p>20. Close Up . . . From a Distance: Using ICTs for Managing International Manufacturing </p><p>21. Over the Hill but on Top of the World: An Atypical Salesperson</p><p>22. The Role of ICTs in Maintaining Personal Relationships Across Distance and Cultures </p><p>23. One in the Hand is Worth Two on the Web: Relying on Tradition When Selling Financial Services </p><p>24. Do What You Do Well and Outsource the Rest</p><p>25. Orchestrating Communication: The Process of Selling in the Semiconductor Market </p><p>26. Nothing Fishy Going on Here: Tracing the Quality of the Seafood Product</p><p>27. From Information to Emotion: The Changing Use of ICTs Following the 9/11 Tragedy </p><p>28. Give Me a Cellphone and I’ll Give You Trouble: Technology Usage in a Young Start-Up </p><p>29. Information Will Get You to Heaven</p><p>Index </p><p>About the Authors </p>