Improving Interorganizational Effectiveness through Voice Mail Facilitation of Peer-to-Peer Relationships

This study examines the impact of the introduction of voice mail on (1) the effectiveness of the interorganizational relationship between a manufacturing firm and its network of dealerships and (2) the sales performance of these dealerships. As voice mail was introduced into two of five sales regions, this trial intervention provided an opportunity to assess these organizational impacts using a quasi-experimental research design. The results indicate that voice mail enhanced interorganizational effectiveness as measured by dealership sales performance in two primary ways: directly, due to the store and forward nature of voice mail; and indirectly, due to improved interorganizational relationships between the manufacturer’s field representatives and the dealerships’ sales managers enabled by the more effective use of written communication media. The study also demonstrates the importance, when examining the organizational impacts of information technology, of devising data-gathering procedures which tightly link the functionality of the technology being examined to specific organizational processes.