The adoption and use of GSS in project teams: Toward more participative processes and outcomes

• 成果类型: Review
• 署名作者: Dennis, AR; Garfield, MJ
• 署名单位: Indiana University System; IU Kelley School of Business; Indiana University Bloomington; Bentley University
• 刊物名称: MIS QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0276-7783
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 289-323
• 关键词: group support-systems; GROUP DECISION-MAKING; FACE-TO-FACE; IDEA GENERATION; computer; TECHNOLOGY; INFORMATION; field; work; COMMUNICATION

摘要

This paper reports the results(-) of a field-study of six medical project teams that worked together in meetings over a seven week period to develop plans to improve customer service within a hospital Half the teams used a group support system (GSS), while the other half used traditional processes that were the habitual norms for this organization. In the teams using traditional project team processes,- the leaders defined the teams' project goal directed discussions, recorded and the teams' notes, assigned tasks to controlled team members, and prepared and presented the teams' report. In the GSS teams, the leaders faced-leadership challenges or abdicated, regular members participated to a greater extent, the project goal emerged from team discussion, and the teams'notes were open and widely distributed. In short, processes in the GSS,teams - were more-. participatory and democratic. At first, teams found the GSS-based meeting processes very uncomfortable and returned to traditional verbal discussiom-based-processes: Once they returned to these traditional-processes, however, they found comfortable and moved back to include themion based processes. more electronic communication Participants' attitudes (satisfaction, perceived-effectiveness, and cohesiveness) were initially lower in GSS teams, but gradually increased, until they equaled those of the,traditional teams. There were significant differences in overall project outcomes: traditional teams developed conservative projects that met-the unstated project agenda perceived by, the team-leaders. In contrast, GSS teams developed projects more closely aligned to the interests oftearn members.