The Role of Latent Beliefs and Group Cohesion in Predicting Group Decision Support Systems Success

Abstract

In this article, the authors focus on determining whether a group’s attributes influence the effectiveness of the group’s use of group decision support systems (GDSS). Specifically, their research objective is to understand the impact of the perception of the GDSS and group cohesion on outcomes of enjoyment with the process, enjoyment with the decision, the effectiveness of the decision, and efficiency of the decision. To test their hypothesis, the authors conducted a lab experiment. The results were then calculated utilizing PLS Graph. It was found that each of the five characteristics of the innovation is a significant factor in the second-order construct, with Relative Advantage exhibiting the highest loading. The latent belief toward the GDSS was a significant driver of all the GDSS outcomes, except for Decision Efficiency. Group cohesion significantly predicted enjoyment and effectiveness, but it did not drive the group to be more efficient. Conclusions and implications for further research are also discussed.