Multicommunicating in Meetings: Effects of Locus,Topic Relatedness,and Meeting Medium

Abstract

While meetings are a frequently used management tool, they also tend to be costly and less effective than desired. Multicommunication in meetings (Meeting MC)—being simultaneously engaged both in an organizational meeting and in one or more technology-mediated secondary conversations—has become increasingly prevalent and can affect meeting outcomes. Based on Goffman’s dramaturgical lens, media synchronicity, and compartmentalization, the present study examines how the outcomes of engaging in Meeting MC are affected by three key factors: Locus (the location of the people with whom one engages in a second conversation), Meeting Medium (the technology used to conduct a meeting), and Topic Relatedness (whether the topics being discussed in a meeting are related to the second conversation). Analyses of survey data suggest that how these three factors and their interactions affect meetings when Meeting MC occurs vary depending on whether a meeting is face-to-face (FTF) or technology-mediated.