individuals will use different types of media depending on their motivations, communication purpose, institutional factors, and situational factors. also, people will be more inclined to use a particular medium of communication if others associated with them use that medium; this is called the network effect. motivations for using certain media are divided into strong- and weak-tie communication. there are five communication purposes: coordination, knowledge-sharing, information gathering, relationship development, and conflict resolution. institutional factors include the physical structure of work units, social structure, and incentives. situational factors include task characteristics, message content, and urgency.