Virtualization of Communication – The Impact of Information Richness on Cooperation

Virtualization of communication by means of information and communication technology supports companies in globally distributed value creation. Cooperation among employees in order to gain economies of scope is of special economical importance. Computer mediated communication like video conferencing and teleconferencing is more and more accompanied by technical information richness. However, in many cases such technologies do not perform as expected, so that the investment does not generate the expected added value. Newer information richness theories claim that this is caused by insufficient user experience with the technologies. The paper reviews the current state of research regarding the impact of computer mediated communication as well as of information richness (objective and subjective) on cooperation. Thus it shows how virtualization of communication can support companies in better exploiting their economical potential.