Affective Displays in E-Mail Communication: Evidence from the Lab and the Field

Abstract

This chapter explores how electronic affective displays may influence individual perceptions, behavior and performance by conducting an exploratory analysis using a sample of real work emails (study 1), along with a laboratory experiment (study 2). The findings from both studies indicate that positive affective displays may have a stronger impact on individual perceptions (study 1) and invoke greater reciprocity from electronic partners (study 2) than negative affective displays. Moreover, some interesting gender effects with respect to affective displays and individual negotiation performance are observed. The implications for the field, along with limitations of the current research, are discussed.

Citation

Belkin, L.Y. and Kurtzberg, T.R. (2014), "Affective Displays in E-Mail Communication: Evidence from the Lab and the Field", Individual Sources, Dynamics, and Expressions of Emotion (Research on Emotion in Organizations, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 279-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1746-9791(2013)0000009017