An Assessment of the Experimental Literature on Electronic Support of Group Work: Results of a Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of experimental studies published between 1980 and 1990 that focused on the relationship between electronic group support systems (GSS) use and group process and outcomes. The study examines the following specific group process and outcome variables: degree of task focus, equality of participation, time to decision, decision quality, consensus, and member satisfaction. GSS was found to increase decision quality, time needed to reach decisions, equality of participation, and degree of task focus and to decrease consensus and satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of directions for future research and improvements in the reporting of research results.