Instant messaging and interruption in organizational settings: A social presence’s perspective

Abstract

The goal of this study is to approach conflicting views regarding IM interruption by examining the social presence of IM and its relationship to the level of interruption experienced in organizational settings. Data was gathered via convenience and snowball sampling of computer–using workers in Taiwan (N=283). The results indicated that all four dimensions of IM’s social presence (copresence, social richness, self–reported involvement/partner involvement, social attraction) account significantly for the level of IM interruption at work. Among them, self–reported involvement is the best predictor of the level of IM interruption.