Use and Affordances of ICTs in Interorganizational Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of ICTs in Nonprofit Partnerships

Jiawei Sophia Fu; Katherine R. Cooper; Michelle Shumate

doi:10.1177/0893318918824041

Use and Affordances of ICTs in Interorganizational Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of ICTs in Nonprofit Partnerships

Jiawei Sophia Fu^*, Katherine R. Cooper, Michelle Shumate

^*Corresponding author for this work

Communication Studies

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Interorganizational collaboration relies on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, previous ICT research often takes place within a single organization, lacking insight into how ICTs sustain interorganizational structures. This study examined both the product categories and functional uses of ICTs for interorganizational collaboration, drawing from surveys among a random sample of 181 human services nonprofit organizations in the United States. Results showed that email, teleconference, and shared repositories (e.g., Dropbox) were most popular product types. Content analysis revealed that ICTs were used for coordination, information sharing, relational communication, and client management and ICT utilities varied based on collaboration types. Analyses also indicated that collaboration type, as opposed to organizational attributes (e.g., organizational capacity, resources, size), was related to the frequency of ICT use in nonprofit collaboration. Theoretical contributions to the study of ICTs, interorganizational collaboration, and management communication are discussed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	219-237
Number of pages	19
Journal	Management Communication Quarterly
Volume	33
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318918824041
State	Published - May 1 2019

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the Faculty Innovation Grant of the School of Communication of Northwestern University. The authors thank the anonymous reviewers, the editor Patricia Sias, and participants of the B.E.S.T session of the Organizational Communication division during the 2017 International Communication Association annual conference for their constructive feedback. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the Faculty Innovation Grant of the School of Communication of Northwestern University.

Keywords

ICTs
affordances
interorganizational collaboration
interorganizational communication
management communication
nonprofit organization
technology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Communication
Strategy and Management

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10.1177/0893318918824041

Cite this

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title = "Use and Affordances of ICTs in Interorganizational Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of ICTs in Nonprofit Partnerships",

abstract = "Interorganizational collaboration relies on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, previous ICT research often takes place within a single organization, lacking insight into how ICTs sustain interorganizational structures. This study examined both the product categories and functional uses of ICTs for interorganizational collaboration, drawing from surveys among a random sample of 181 human services nonprofit organizations in the United States. Results showed that email, teleconference, and shared repositories (e.g., Dropbox) were most popular product types. Content analysis revealed that ICTs were used for coordination, information sharing, relational communication, and client management and ICT utilities varied based on collaboration types. Analyses also indicated that collaboration type, as opposed to organizational attributes (e.g., organizational capacity, resources, size), was related to the frequency of ICT use in nonprofit collaboration. Theoretical contributions to the study of ICTs, interorganizational collaboration, and management communication are discussed.",

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author = "Fu, {Jiawei Sophia} and Cooper, {Katherine R.} and Michelle Shumate",

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AU - Cooper, Katherine R.

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N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2019.

PY - 2019/5/1

Y1 - 2019/5/1

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Use and Affordances of ICTs in Interorganizational Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of ICTs in Nonprofit Partnerships

Abstract

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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