ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

MSU continues a long tradition of graduate and faculty research in emerging areas of organizational communication. Its rigorous graduate training, research teams, student publications, and cross-campus connections offer an outstanding program for developing scholars. Research specializations include:

Organizational Assimilation/Socialization, with foci on employment interviewing, organizational socialization, and information seeking;

Conflict Management and Negotiation, including mediation, contextual frames, and role negotiation;

Information Technology, with research on virtual groups, computer-mediated communication, e-commerce, and online communities; and

Teams/Group Interaction, exploring group dynamics, social influence, information exchange, group memory, and decision making.


Faculty

Frank Boster (groups and methods)
William Donohue (negotiation & bargaining)
Vernon Miller (assimilation, role change)
Hee Sun Park (change, culture, methods)
Joseph B. Walther (CMC)
Gwen Wittenbaum (groups & decision-making)


Related Faculty

Jennifer Butler-Ellis (psychological contracts)
Nicole Ellison (CMC, social networks)
Cliff Lampe (computer supported collaboration)
Kurt DeMaagd (e-commerce, productivity)
Phil Garder (recruitment)
Charles Steinfield (e-commerce, IT)


Courses/Seminars

Organizational Communication I: Micro Perspectives
Organizational Communication II: Macro Perspectives
Diffusion
Small Groups
Multilevel Models
Focus Groups
Theory Construction
Hierarchical Linear Modeling
Computer Mediated Communication
Compliance Gaining
Organizational Communication Structure
Organizational Communication Networks


Affiliations

Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research


Journal Editorial Boards

Communication Monographs
Communication Research
Communication Education
Communication Studies
Human Communication Research
Journal of Communication
Management Communication Quarterly
Small Group Research
Communication Methods and Measures
Journal of Communication Studies
Argument and Advocacy


Grants

Researcher: Frank Boster (Lori Post, PI)
Vulnerable Medicaid Populations: A Public Policy Assessment of Abuse Reduction
Researcher: Gwen Wittenbaum (PI)
Title: Interdisciplinary Network for Group Research: The 2007 Conference


Notable Ph.D. Graduates:

J. David Johnson
Robert McPhee
Peter Monge
David Seibold
Michael Roloff


Selected Publications:

1. Organizational Assimilation/Socialization

Jablin, F. M., Miller, V. D., & Sias, P. (1999). Approaches to exploring process in the employment interview.  In R.W. Eder & M.W. Harris (Eds.), The employment interview handbook (pp. 297-320). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Hart, Z. & Miller, V. D. (2005). Context and message content during organizational socialization. Human Communication Research, 31, 295-309

Hart, Z., Miller, V.D. Johnson, J.R., & Johnson, J.D. (2003). Socialization, resocialization, and communication relationships in the context of an organizational change. Communication Studies, 54, 483-495.

Miller, V. D. (in press) Assimilation. In W. Donsbach (ed.), The international encyclopedia of communication. Ames, IA: Blackwell.


2. Conflict Management and Negotiation

Meiners, E. B., & Miller, V. D. (2004). Communicative and contextual dimensions of superior/subordinate negotiation episodes. Western Journal of Communication, 68, 302-321.

Miller, V. D., Johnson, J. R. Hart, Z., & Peterson, D. (1999) A test of antecedents and outcomes of employee role negotiation. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27, 24-48.

Olufowote, J. O., Miller, V. D., Wilson, S. R. (2005). The interactive effects of role change goals and relational exchanges on employee upward influence tactics. Management Communication Quarterly, 18, 385-403.

Park, H. S., & Park, M. (2008). Multilevel effects of conflict management preferences on satisfaction with group processes. International Journal of Conflict Management, 18(1), 57-71.


3. Information Technology

Bazarova, N. N., & Walther, J. B. (forthcoming). Attribution of blame in virtual groups. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.) The destructive side of organizational communication: Processes, consequences and constructive ways of organizing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Boster, F.J., Meyer, G.S., Roberto, A.J., Inge, C., & Strom, R. (2006). Some effects of video streaming on educational achievement. Communication Education, 55, 46-62.

Boster, F.J., Meyer, G.S., Roberto, A.J., Lindsey, L., Smith, R., Inge, C., & Strom, R.E. (2007). The impact of video streaming on mathematics performance. Communication Education, 56, 134- 144.

Flanagin, A. J., Park, H. S., & Seibold, D. R. (2004). Group performance and collaborative technology: A longitudinal and multilevel analysis of information quality, contribution equity, and members' satisfaction in computer-mediated groups. Communication Monographs, 71(3), 352-372.

Nowak, K., Watt, J. H., & Walther, J. (2005).  The influence of synchrony and sensory modality on the person perception process in computer mediated groups.  Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10 (3).

Park, H. S. (2008). The effect of shared cognition on group satisfaction and performance: Politeness and efficiency in group interaction. Communication Research, 35(1), 88-108.

Pena, J., Walther, J. B., & Hancock, J. T. (2007). Effects of geographic distribution on dominance perceptions in computer-mediated groups. Communication Research, 34, 313-331.

Walther, J. B. (in press).  Computer-mediated communication and virtual groups. In E. A. Konijn, S. Utz, M. A. Tanis, & S. B. Barnes (Eds.), Mediated interpersonal communication: How technology affects human interaction. New York: Routlege.

Walther, J. B. (2002).  Time effects in computer-mediated groups: Past, present, and future.  In P. Hinds & S. Kiesler (Eds.), Distributed work (pp. 235-257). Cambridge, MA:  MIT Press

Walther, J. B., & Bunz, U. (2005).  The rules of virtual groups: Trust, liking, and performance in computer-mediated communication.  Journal of Communication, 55, 828-846.

Walther, J. B., & Bazarova, N. (2007). Misattribution in virtual groups: The effects of member distribution on self-serving bias and partner blame. Human Communication Research, 33, 1-26.

Walther, J. B., & Bazarova, N. (in press). Validation and application of electronic propinquity theory to computer-mediated communication in groups. Communication Research.

Walther, J. B., & Slovacek, C., & Tidwell, L. C. (2001).  Is a picture worth a thousand words?  Photographic images in long term and short term virual teams.  Communication Research, 28, 105-134.

Wickham, K., & Walther, J. B. (2007). Perceived behaviors of emergent and assigned leaders in virtual groups. International Journal of E-Collaboration (Special Issue on Virtual Team Leadership), 3, 1-17.

Wigand, R.T., Borstelmann, S.E., & Boster, F.J. (1986). Electronic leisure: Video game usage and the communication climate of video arcades. In M.L. McLaughlin (Ed.), Communication yearbook 9 (pp. 275-293). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.



4. Teams/Group Interaction

Bonito, J. A., Wittenbaum, G. M., & Hirokawa, R. Y. (in press). Small group communication. In M. B. Salwen & D. W. Stacks (Eds.), An integrated approach to communication theory and research (2nd Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Boster, F.J., & Cruz, M.G. (2002).Persuading in the small group context. In J.P. Dillard & M. Pfau (Eds.), (pp. 477-494). Thousand Oaks, CA: The persuasion handbook: Developments in theory and practice Sage.

Cruz, M.G., Boster, F.J., & Rodriguez, J.I. (1997). The impact of group size and proportion of shared information on the exchange and integration of information in groups. Communication Research, 24, 291-313.

Hollingshead, A. B., Wittenbaum, G. M., Paulus, P. B., Hirokawa, R. Y., Ancona, D. G., Peterson, R. S., Jehn, K. A., & Yoon, K. (2005). A look at groups from the functional perspective. In M. S. Poole and A. B. Hollingshead (Eds.) Theories of small group research: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 21-62). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

LaFrance, B.H., Boster, F.J., & Darrow, S. (2003). An analysis of role conflict and role ambiguity within the Cancer information Service's communication network. Communication Studies, 54, 420-437.

Lee, H. E., Park, H. S., Lee, T. S., & Lee, D. W. (2007). Relationships between LMX and subordinates' feedback seeking behaviors. Social Behavior and Personality, 35(5), 359-674.

Lee, T. S., Lee, D. W., Lee, H. E., & Park, H. S. (2005). Superior-subordinate relationship in Korean civil engineering companies. Journal of Management in Engineering, 21(4), 159-163.

Limon, M.S., & Boster, F.J. (2003). The effects of performance feedback on group members' perceptions of prestige, task competencies, group belonging, and loafing. Communication Research Reports, 20, 13-23.

Limon, M.S., & Boster, F.J. (2001). The impact of varying argument quality and minority size on influencing the majority and perceptions of the minority. Communication Quarterly, 49, 350- 365.

Raile, A. N. W, Kim, R. K., Choi, J., Serota, K., Park, H. S., & Lee, D. W. (2008). Connections at work: How friendship networks relate to job satisfaction. Communication Research Reports, 25(2).

Wittenbaum, G. M., & Bowman, J. M. (2005). Member status and information exchange in decision-making groups. In E. A. Mannix, M. A. Neale, & M. C. Thomas-Hunt (Eds.), Research on managing groups and teams: Status and groups. (pp. 143-168). Elsevier Press: London, England.