The Effects of Group, Task,Context, and Technology Variables on the Usefulness of Group Support Systems

Abstract

Using meta-analytic procedures, this article quantitatively integrated the results of 31 experimental studies on the effects of Group Support System (GSS) use. A total of eight dependent variables representing performance, satisfaction, consensus, and equality of participation were investigated. The use of GSSs was found to have positive main effects on decision quality, number of alternatives generated, and equality of participation, but negative main effects in terms of time to reach decision, consensus, and satisfaction. Further analysis showed the effects to be moderated by task, group, context, and technology variables. For example, larger groups achieved betterperformance and greater satisfaction from the use of GSS than smaller groups. Groups with a formal hierarchy using GSS did worse in terms of both performance and satisfaction compared to groups without formal hierarchy. Also, the level of GSS support emerged as influential on almost all dependent variables. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for organizational use of GSS, design issues of GSS, andfuture research directions.