People, technology and communication: The case for superhighway codes

Technology is rapidly changing the shape of internal communication, as increasingly more organisations make use of email, intranets, ‘extrenets’, databases and the like. The promise of an ‘information superhighway’ has led many organisations to invest heavily in technology, both in terms of time and money. Based on a recent study of electronic communication in 20 top high‐tech companies, this paper explores the critical success factors for realising a maximum return on such an investment and considers the implications for all aspects of an internal communication mix.