Media and group cohesion: Relative influences on social presence, task participation, and group consensus

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Yoo, Y; Alavi, M
• 署名单位: University System of Ohio; Case Western Reserve University; Emory University
• 刊物名称: MIS QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0276-7783
• DOI: 10.2307/3250922
• 发表日期: 2001
• 页码: 371-390
• 关键词: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS; ELECTRONIC MAIL; GROUP COHESIVENESS; ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION; decision-making; TECHNOLOGY; richness; performance; acceptance; choices

摘要

Organizations deploy advanced communication media such as audio and videoconferencing to enhance and extend group communication interactions. However, established groups (i.e., groups with a history of working together) can view and use the same technology differently from groups without any past experiences of working together. This study examines the relative influences of media condition and group cohesion on social presence, task participation, and group consensus. Results from a controlled laboratory experiment with 45 triads of college students working on a decision-making task showed that media condition (audio conferencing vs. desktop videoconferencing) has significantly smaller influences on social presence and task participation than group cohesion in established groups. The study found that influence of group cohesion over social presence is additive, rather than substitutive, to that of media condition. The study also established that task participation played a more important role than social presence in determining the degree of consensus among group members in computer-mediated communication environments.