article

An Experiment Assessing Group Support System and Facilitator Effects on Meeting Outcomes

Authors:

Robert Bostrom,

Bayard WynneAuthors Info & Claims

Management Science, Volume 41, Issue 2

Pages 189 - 208

Published: 01 February 1995 Publication History

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Bye Wynne, who never held back from life, charging those he touched with his vigor, heart, and mind. Thanks.

This article reports on an experiment investigating the effects of a human facilitator and a computerized Group Support System GSS on group meeting outcomes. These treatments were applied in the same way as they are in real organizational situations, with experimental conditions used to control confounding influences of other outside factors. Forty-eight groups were supported by one, both, or neither of the GSS and facilitator treatments. Groups designed a coordinated production strategy during the meeting and then implemented their strategy. Group performance, perceptions of group cohension, and group interaction processes were assessed as the primary dependent variables.

Facilitated groups experienced improved group processes and greater cohesion, whereas the GSS-supported groups did not. Facilitator and GSS support together tended to enhance one another's effective influence on cohesion and processes. No significant treatment effects on Performance were found. Supplemental analyses revealed that the quality of facilitators and the restrictiveness of different GSS tools moderated their impacts on appropriation processes and group outcomes.

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An Experiment Assessing Group Support System and Facilitator Effects on Meeting Outcomes

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cover image Management Science

Management Science Volume 41, Issue 2

February 1995

188 pages

ISSN:0025-1909

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INFORMS

Linthicum, MD, United States

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Published: 01 February 1995

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