Communication Quality in the Context of Information Systems and Business Processes

There is a growing interest in communication and social interaction in the business area. New marketing theories (e.g. Hakansson and Snehota, 1995; Gummesson, 1995; Gronroos, 1996; Zeithaml, 1990) stress the importance of business relationships, interaction and communication for the business process. The rapid development of information technology, especially in the area of data communication has also created a growing interest for using information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) in the horizontal business communication between suppliers and customers. Sales support systems, agent business systems and electronic commerce on the Internet are becoming more and more important for business communication between companies, organisations and consumers. New perspectives and theories for analysing business processes and business communication have also emerged during the last ten years in the information sciences research area, where the importance of communication for the business process is stressed (e.g. Auramaki et. al. 1992; Chong and Liu, 2001, Dietz, 1994; Denning and Medina-Mora, 1995; Filipe et. al., 2001; Goldkuhl, 1998; Stamper, 1994).