Global differences in attributes of email usage

Email usage data from users in a large enterprise were according to country and geographical regions to for differences. Data of 13,877 employees from 29 in a global technology company were analyzed. found statistically significant differences in several of email usage. Users in the U.S. tend to retain numbers of email messages while Latin American keep fewer messages. European countries tend to more of their email into folders and Asian countries to do less so. These differences in filing behavior are correlated with Hofstede's Uncertainty Avoidance. This research adds another dimension for studies of usage which previously have not reported the geographical source of their data. Copyright 2009 ACM.