Media richness theory states that all communication media vary in their ability

to enable users to communicate and to change understanding. The degree of

this ability is known as a medium's "richness." MRT places all communication
media on a continuous scale based on their ability to adequately communicate
a complex message. Media that can efficiently overcome different frames of
reference and clarify ambiguous issues are considered to be richer whereas
communications media that require more time to convey understanding are
deemed less rich.

A primary driver in selecting a communication medium for a particular

message is to reduce the equivocality, or possible misinterpretations, of a
message.[3] If a message is equivocal, it is unclear and thus more difficult for the
receiver to decode. The more equivocal a message, the more cues and data
needed to interpret it correctly. For example, a simple message intended to
arrange a meeting time and place could be communicated in a short email, but
a more detailed message about a person's work performance and expectations
would be better communicated through face-to-face interaction.

Determining media richness

Media richness is a function of characteristics including the following:

 Ability to handle multiple information cues simultaneously

 Ability to facilitate rapid feedback
 Ability to establish a personal focus
 Ability to utilize natural language

Selecting an appropriate medium

Media richness theory predicts that managers will choose the mode of
communication based on aligning the equivocality of the message to the
richness of the medium. In other words, communication channels will be
selected based on how communicative they are. However, often other factors,
such as the resources available to the communicator, come into play. If an
organization's norms and resources support one medium, it may be difficult
for a manager to choose another form to communicate his or her message.

Applications

Industries

Organizational and business communications

Media richness theory was originally conceived in an organizational

communication setting to better understand interaction within companies. MRT
is used to determine the "best" medium for an individual or organization to
communicate a message. For example, organizations may find that important
decisions need to be discussed in face-to-face interactions; using email would
not be an adequate channel.

From an organizational perspective, high level personnel may require verbal

media to help solve many of their problems. Entry level positions with clear,
unambiguous tasks may be fulfilled with written media forms. From an
individual perspective, though, people prefer oral communication because the
abundant communicative cues afford more accurate and efficient interpretation
of the message.
Media sensitivity and job performance

Not all executives or managers in organizations demonstrate the same skill in

making effective media choices for communications. High performing
executives or managers tend to be more "sensitive" to richness requirements in
media selection than low performing managers. In other words, competent
executives select rich media for non-routine messages and lean media for
routine messages.

From the consensus and satisfaction perspectives, groups with a

communication medium which is too lean for their task seem to experience
more difficulties than groups with a communication medium which is too rich
for their task.[15] Additionally, face-to-face groups achieved higher consensus
change, higher decision satisfaction and higher decision scheme satisfaction
than dispersed groups.

Job seeking and recruitment

In a job recruitment context, face-to-face interactions with company

representatives, such as at career fairs, should be perceived by applicants as
rich media. Career fairs allow instant feedback in the form of questions and
answers and permit multiple cues including verbal messages and body gestures
and can be tailored to each job seeker's interests and questions.

In comparison, static messages like reading information on a company's

website or browsing an electronic bulletin board can be defined as leaner media
since they are not customized to the individual needs of job seekers; they
are asynchronous in their feedback and, since they are primarily text-based,
there are no opportunities for verbal inflections or body gestures. This
interaction between job seekers and potential employers affects how
candidates process information about the organization. The interactions a
candidate has with a potential employer via lean and rich media shape a job
seeker's beliefs.

Virtual teams and teleworking

Many organizations are distributed globally with employees on a single team

located in many different time zones. In order to facilitate productive
cooperation and team dynamics, organizations benefit from considering the
technology tools that are provided for coworking and communication. An ideal
teleworking design would feature a variety of types of media, ranging from lean
to rich, in which workers can choose the media that is most suitable for their
working style and the task at hand. Further, different jobs may require different
types of media. Jobs that are more concrete and structured like planning,
administration or operations may be sustainable with lean media options
while software design and development which inherently has much more
uncertainty and negotiation is best supported by richer media channels.

Online shopping

The perceived richness of an online store must be considered when analysing

online buying content. The consumer's web experience, income and trust in the
online store have a significant positive effect on the consumer's intent of
making online purchases. A consumer's Web experience has a significant
positive effect on the perceived richness of the online store, whereas the
perceived risk related to the use of the online store has a significant negative
effect on the consumer's trust in an attitude towards the online store.
According to media richness theory, an online store will be more efficient for
analysable tasks and a bricks-and-mortar store for unanalysable tasks.

Corporate social responsibility

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) describes a company's self-

regulation in the compliance of the ethical and moral standards. Public
companies often describe their CSR efforts as an aspect of marketing
campaigns in order to appeal to customers. Customers are more affected by
such messages when they are communicated through rich channels instead of
lean ones.

Distance Education e-books

In evaluating students satisfaction with distance courses, Sheppherd & Martz concluded that
“Courses that utilised tools such as discussion forums, document sharing areas & wave casting”
were viewed more favourably. In 2011 media richness used as a variable in their study
remaining user attitudes towards e-books, stating that the potential for rich media context like
embedded hyperlinks and other multimedia additions, offered users a different reading
experience than a printed book.

Civic Engagement

Media used online also has been successfully proven to stimulate civic management. Leveraging
the internet to facilitate public deliberation has been proven to be successful and cost effective
way to engage large volumes of citizens. Through the creation of new social networks and
various online platforms, media allows for many more opportunities. The explosion of creativity
on the internet can be linked to formal institution such as government and education in order
to allow for a broader participation base, leading to stronger engagement of citizens and
gaining access to a wider range of insight and knowledge.