Why People Forward Emails to Others?

Authors

Tom M. Y. Lin, Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, TaiwanFollow
Heng-Hui Wu, Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, TaiwanFollow

Document Type

Work in Progress

Abstract

The issue of electronic mail (e-mail) communication has attracted much academic attention over the last two decades. Yet, little is known about why people forward emails to others. Through a review of the literature, this paper aims to investigate reasons why people forward emails and proposes several variables related to one's intention of doing so. More specifically, we hypothesize that the higher degree the four possible variables are (the recipient’s trust in the email content, the recipient's trust in the senders, intention to staying in touch with friends, and the receivers' altruism trait), the more likely people will forward emails. On the other hand, we hypothesize that the lower degree the two possible variables are (the size of email file, and the cost of forwarding e-mail), the less likely people will forward emails.

Recommended Citation

Lin, Tom M. Y. and Wu, Heng-Hui, "Why People Forward Emails to Others?" (2002). ICEB 2002 Proceedings (Taipei, Taiwan). 28.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/iceb2002/28