An investigation of satisfaction when using a voice-synchronous GDSS in dispersed meetings

Meeting Satisfaction for Technology-Supported Groups

Research shows that people who feel dissatisfied with a technology-supported meeting may discontinue use of such technology, even if it provides demonstrable benefits. It is therefore important to derive theoretical understandings of the satisfaction phenomenon. This article validates an instrument that measures the constructs of a goal-attainment model of meeting satisfaction. It then tests the model among 237 working professionals in 19 groups in the field. Results support the propositions that satisfaction with meeting process and satisfaction with meeting outcome are both a function of an individual's perceived net goal attainment with respect to the meeting. The results also support a proposed link between satisfaction with meeting outcome and satisfaction with meeting process. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

Virtual Teams Demystified

Virtual teams have been researched intensely in the last ten years and there is a growing body of literature on the topic. At this point, the authors need an integrative theory-driven framework through which they can conceptualize the notion of virtual teams and organize and make sense of prior research. This can help them better understand what drives virtual team dynamics and ultimately effectiveness and can guide future research on the topic. Drawing on models of team effectiveness and emergent processes and states, the authors developed a framework for understanding virtual team dynamics. They then use this framework to review and synthesize one hundred and twenty-one empirical studies of virtual teams published since 1990. The authors analyzed the direct and indirect antecedents of virtual team effectiveness and identify key gaps in both their knowledge of, and approach to studying, virtual teams. They outlined areas for future research and discuss, the implications for the authors’ paper for practice and for the study of virtual and traditional teams.

A test of task-technology fit theory for group support systems

Group support systems (GSS) provide both promise and puzzlement. Experimental studies of different systems over the years have resulted in conflicting findings --- sometimes enhancing group performance, at other times having no effect, and occasionally even resulting in worse performance for GSS-supported groups than for traditional groups. Researchers have speculated that the mixed results are due to a poor fit of the GSS with the group's task. A recent model of task-technology fit has provided a theoretical perspective from which to test this issue. In this paper, a theory of task-technology fit is tested by applying it to a selected set of published GSS experiments. Key constructs in the theory are operationalized via coding instruments, and the application of the coding scheme provides support for the theory.