Meetings as Persistent Conversations that use ICTs and Face-to-Face to Build Social Capital

Abstract

Attending meetings is a common activity where people accomplish tasks and extend their relationships. But what happens when a meeting is over? Is that the end of the meeting conversation? This study empirically demonstrates that meetings are not discrete events; rather they are a form of persistent conversation processes, involving combinations of ICTs and face-to-face communication. Conversations between meetings contribute to a meeting process-perspective and link to the development of bonding and bridging social capital. The findings suggest that the frequency of face-to-face conversations and text messaging between meetings, positively impact bonding social capital. Peoples’ attitudes toward continuing conversations between meetings positively impacts bridging social capital. The frequency of using many contemporary ICTs—e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and GroupMe—between meetings was not a significant predictor in developing social capital, even in a sample of young adults.