Field study into the organizational application of group support systems

Gert Jan de Vreede, Wouter van Wijk

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Results from many laboratory studies and field studies suggest that Group Support Systems (GSS) may have an added value to organizational problem solving. However, few studies have been reported on the actual organizational application of this technology. This field study investigated the use of a GSS in a large insurance firm over a number of sessions. Data was gathered with respect to the GSS used, the meeting process, and the meeting outcomes. Also participants' perceptions on these issues were investigated. The results suggest that the use of GSS increased productivity by 55 percent both in terms of man hours and project time span. Productivity gains seemed to increase in larger projects. Both initiators and participants considered the GSS meetings to be more efficient and effective than manual meetings and to yield higher quality results. Critical factors to the success of GSS meetings included the translation of meeting objectives into a structured agenda, the active motivation of group members to participate, and enough time for groups to digest (intermediary) meeting results. Subject matter expertise did not seem to be critical for successfully facilitating a meeting.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages151-159
Number of pages9
StatePublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes
EventProceedings of the 1997 ACM SIGCPR Conference - San Francisco, CA, USA
Duration: Apr 3 1997Apr 5 1997

Other

OtherProceedings of the 1997 ACM SIGCPR Conference
CitySan Francisco, CA, USA
Period4/3/974/5/97

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Field study into the organizational application of group support systems'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this