Robinson, Helen R. (2020) Multiple media use : individuals’ preferences, drivers and motivations. (PhD thesis), Kingston University, .
Abstract
This thesis examines multiple media use - the act of consuming more than one media at a time, otherwise termed media multitasking. Ongoing technological developments enable multiple media use through a variety of combinations of online and offline media, for example: television, social media and text messaging. The overall aim of the study is to address the emergent, limited and descriptive status of existing research in the domain of multiple media use. Accordingly, the principal purpose of the study is to pursue explanations for individuals’ multiple media use through a planned sequence of five papers. Following the review of literature in Paper 1, revealing the emerging nature of extant research, a series of empirical studies are conducted and documented, each informed by the preceding findings. In Paper 2, an exploration of the scope of individuals’ preference for multiple media use (or polychronicity) reveals eight dimensions of preference. In turn, these dimensions inform the development and testing of a multidimensional scale to measure polychronicity, the preference for multiple media use, in Paper 3. The resulting scale is then used in Paper 4 to investigate the effects of the dimensions of preference on multiple media use, to determine the relationship between preference and behaviour. On establishing this relationship, underlying motivations in the relationships between preferences and multiple media use are introduced in Paper 5, represented by regulatory mode theory. Collectively, the findings represent a substantive contribution to knowledge in the emerging domain of multiple media use. In brief, Paper 1 identifies the relevance of the concepts of polychronicity and multitasking, detailing precise future research directions. Offering the first insight into preference for multiple media use, Paper 2 advances our understanding of the breadth of individuals’ preference. The prime contribution of Paper 3 is a new multidimensional scale to measure polychronicity, the preference for multiple media use (the P-MMU). In Paper 4, the differential effects of the dimensions of preference on multiple media use are discovered, leading to the formation of three distinct user segments and a unique multiple media user typology (the MMU-T). Finally, Paper 5 offers a first known insight into the role of motivation in the relationship between preference and the act of multiple media use, providing evidence of the moderating effects of regulatory mode. For marketing communications, advertising and media practitioners, the findings enhance the multi-media planning process by providing: a rich supplementary information source, a new measurement scale (P-MMU), a unique multiple media user typology (MMU-T) and an in-depth understanding of the motivation for multiple media use.
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