Cultural determinants of email communication styles

Abstract

Based on a sample of 234 IT consulting and services professionals from various cultural backgrounds, this study investigates whether Edward T. Hall's concept of culture can explain cultural differences in email communication. Although a vast array of intercultural research employs Hall's concept in various communication settings, few take into account the computer-mediated communication technologies that now play an integral role in the operations of international companies. Our results show that cultural differences in email are present and can be explained by Hall's dimensions of context, time, and space orientation. In particular, cultural background has a significant impact on the preference for formalness, promptness, preciseness, task-relatedness, and relationship-relatedness in email communication. Implications for managers as well as future studies are derived. © The Author(s) 2012.