A critical review of research on electronic mail

This paper reviews the literature on email (including computer conferencing) and discusses the most important current issues in the field. Though it will be of interest to researchers working specifically in the email field, it is intended mainly as a summary for IS researchers in other areas. Email research is part of a wider field, computer-mediated communication (CMC), which includes some areas not covered here, such as the Internet, video conferencing and EDI. Most research on email has concerned itself with the issues of media choice and media effects. Despite a great deal of published work though, the field still has an unsatisfactory, piecemeal feel to it. Much of the work that has been published is unsatisfactory in being based upon unrealistic, laboratory-like simulations, and a positivist epistemology. Most of the work concerns the use of email and the effects of using email on individuals and groups; little has been done on the effects at an organizational level. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future avenues of research.