This article is based on imagining the widespread daily use of electronic meeting systems (EMS) technology in organizations. Three famous meetings from popular literature—the Mad Tea Party, Twelve Angry Men, and the Last Supper—are used as case studies to illustrate dynamics common in organizational groups. The implications of technology use for the management of these dynamics is discussed, and suggestions are offered for an agenda and new metaphors to guide the next generation of EMS research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alderfer, C. P.
(1987). An intergroup perspective on group dynamics. In J. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 191-222). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
2.
Argyris, C.
& Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
3.
Asimov. I.
(1981). Asimov’s guide to the Bible. New York: Avenel.
4.
Bales, R. F.
(1953). The equilibrium problem in small groups. In T. Parsons, R. F. Bales, & E. A. Shills (Eds.), Working papers in the theory of action (pp. 111-161). Glencoe, IL: Free Press.
5.
Berg, D. N.
, & Smith, K. K. (1990). Paradox and groups. In J. Gillette & M. McCollom (Eds.), Groups in context: A new perspective on group dynamics (pp. 107-132). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
6.
Bion, W. R.
(1961). Experiences in groups. London: Tavistock.
7.
Brown, R.
(1986). Social psychology: The second edition. New York: Macmillan.
8.
Cannon-Bowers, J. A.
, Salas, E., & Converse, S. (1993). Shared mental models in expert team decisionmaking. In N. J. Castellan, Jr. (Ed.), Individual and group decision-making (pp. 221-246). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
9.
Cantor, N.
, Pittman, T. S., & Jones, E. E. (1982). Choice and attitude attributions: The influence of constraint information on attributions across levels of generality. Social Cognition, 1, 1-20.
10.
Dennis, A. R.
(1996a). Information exchange and use in small group decision making. Small Group Research, 27, 532-550.
11.
Dennis, A. R.
(1996b). Information processing in group decision making: You can lead a group to information, but you can’t make it think. MIS Quarterly, 20, 433-455.
12.
Dennis, A. R.
, George, J. F., Jessup, L. M., Nunamaker, J. F., & Vogel, D. R. (1988). Information technology to support electronic meetings. MIS Quarterly, 12, 591-624.
13.
Dennis, A. R.
, Nunamaker, J. F., & Vogel, D. (1990). A comparison of laboratory and field research in the study of electronic meeting systems. Journal of MIS, 7, 107-135.
14.
DeSanctis, G. L.
(1993). Shifting foundations in group support systems research. In L. M. Jessup & J. S. Valacich (Eds.), Group support systems: New perspectives (pp. 97-111). New York: Macmillan.
15.
DeSanctis, G.
, Dickson, G. W., Jackson, B. M., & Poole, M. S. (1991, August). Using computing in the face-to-face meeting: Some initial observations from the Texaco-Minnesota project. Paper presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Miami Beach, FL.
16.
DeSanctis, G. L.
& Gallupe, R. B. (1987). A foundation for the study of group decision support systems. Management Science, 33, 589-609.
17.
DeSanctis, G.
, & Poole, M. S. (1994). Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory. Organization Science, 5, 121-147.
18.
DeSanctis, G.
, Poole, M. S., Dickson, G. W., & Jackson, B. M. (1993). An interpretive analysis of team use of group technologies. Journal of Organizational Computing, 3, 1-29.
19.
Fjermestad, J.
, & Hiltz, S. R. (in press). An assessment of group support systems research: Methodology. Journal of Management Information Systems.
20.
Gardner, M.
(1990). More annotated Alice. New York: Random House.
21.
George, J. F.
, Easton, G., Nunamaker, J. F., & Northcraft, G. (1990). A study of collaborative group work with and without computer based support. Information Systems Research, 1, 394-415.
22.
Gersick, C.G.J.
(1989). Marking time: Predictable transitions in task groups. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 274-309.
23.
Gersick, C.G.J.
, & Hackman, J. R. (1990). Habitual routines in task-performing groups. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 47, 65-97.
24.
Gigone, D.
, & Hastie, R. (1993). The common knowledge effect: Information sharing and group judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 959-974.
25.
Gladstein, D. L.
, & Reilly, N. P. (1985). Group decision making under threat: The tycoon game. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 613-627.
26.
Haley, J.
(1969). The power tactics of Jesus Christ. New York: Grossman.
27.
Hare, A. P.
(1976). Handbook of small group research (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press.
28.
Harvey, J. B.
(1988). The Abilene paradox: The management of agreement. Organizational Dynamics, 17, 17-43.
29.
Hayne, S. C.
, Pollard, C., & Rice, R. E. (1997, August). Accuracy of attribution in small groups using anonymity in group support systems. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA.
30.
Hewes, D. E.
(1986). A socio-egocentric model of group decision-making. In R. Y. Hirokawa & M. S. Poole (Eds.), Communication and group decision making (pp. 265-291). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
31.
Hiltz, S. R.
, Turoff, M., & Johnson, K. (1989). Experiments in group decision-making, 3: Disinhibition, deindividuation and group process in pen name and real name computer conferences. Decision Support Systems, 5, 217-232.
32.
Hirokawa, R. Y.
, Gouran, D. S., & Martz, A. (1988). Understanding the sources of faulty group decisionmaking: A lesson from the Challenger disaster. Small Group Behavior, 19, 411-433.
33.
Hollingshead, A. B.
(1996a). Information suppression and status persistence in group decision making: The effects of communication media. Human Communication Research, 23, 193-219.
34.
Hollingshead, A. B.
(1996b). The rank order effect in group decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 68, 181-193.
35.
Hollingshead, A. B.
, & McGrath, J. E. (1995). Computer-assisted groups: A critical review of the empirical research. In R. A. Guzzo & E. Salas (Eds.), Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations (pp. 46-78). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
36.
Janis, I.
(1982). Victims of groupthink (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
37.
Janlert, L.
(1987). The computer as a person. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 17, 321-341.
38.
Kernberg, O. F.
(1998). Ideology, conflict, and leadership in groups and organizations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
39.
Kozar, K. E.
, & Zigurs, I. (1992). Human and machine roles in team product reviews. Information & Management, 23, 149-157.
40.
Laughlin, P. R.
, & Earley, P. C. (1982). Social combination models, persuasive arguments theory, social comparison theory, and choice shift. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 273-280.
41.
Mantei, M. M.
(1988). Capturing the capture lab concepts: A case study in the design of computer supported meeting environments. In I. Greif (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (pp. 257-270). New York: Association for Computing Machinery.
42.
Manz, C. C.
, & Sims, H. P. (1987). Leading workers to lead themselves: The external leadership of self-managing work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32, 106-129.
43.
Marin, G. (1993). Effects of communication support technology on the distribution of unshared information and the discovery of hidden profiles in group decision-making. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University.
44.
McGrath, J. E.
, & Hollingshead, A. B. (1993). Putting the group back in group support systems: Some theoretical issues about dynamic processes in groups with technological enhancements. In L. M. Jessup & J. S. Valacich (Eds.), Group support systems: New perspectives (pp. 78-96). New York: Macmillan.
45.
McLeod, P. L.
(1992). An assessment of the experimental literature on electronic support of group work: Results of a meta-analysis. Human-Computer Interaction, 7, 257-280.
46.
McLeod, P. L.
(1996). New communication technologies for group decision-making. In R. Y. Hirokawa & M. S. Poole (Eds.), Communication and group decision making (pp. 426-461). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
McLeod, P. L.
(1997a). A comprehensive model of anonymity in computer-supported group decisionmaking. In K. Kumar & J. I. DeGross (Eds.), Proceedings 18th Annual International Conference on Information Systems (pp. 223-234). New York: ICIS.
48.
McLeod, P. L.
(1997b, August). Group support systems and the discovery of hidden profiles. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, Boston, MA.
49.
McLeod, P. L.
, Baron, R. S., Marti, M., & Yoon, K. (1997). The eyes have it: Minority influence in face-to-face and computer-mediated group discussion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 706-718.
50.
McLeod, P. L.
, & Elston, S. E. (1995). Persuasive linguistic devices in computer-supported group discussion. In J. F. Nunamaker (Ed.), Proceedings Twenty Eighth Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 20–31). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press.
51.
McLeod, P. L.
, & Liker, J. K. (1992). Electronic meeting systems: Evidence from a low structure environment. Information Systems Research, 3, 195-224.
52.
Meier, J. P.
(1997). The circle of the twelve: Did it exist during Jesus’ public ministry?Journal of Biblical Literature, 116, 635-672.
53.
Miranda, S. M., & Saunders, C. S. (1997). Alternate explanations of decision quality across tasks: The role of information before and during the meeting. Unpublished manuscript, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton.
54.
Moscovici, S.
(1980). Toward a theory of conversion behavior. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 13, pp. 209-242). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
55.
Nagasundaram, M.
, & Dennis, A. R. (1993). When a group is not a group: The cognitive foundation of group idea generation. Small Group Research, 24, 463-489.
56.
Nemeth, C. J.
(1986). Differential contributions of majority and minority influence. Psychological Review, 93, 23-32.
57.
Ngwenyama, O. K.
, & Lyytinen, K. J., (1997). Groupware environments as action constitutive resources: A social action framework for analyzing groupware technologies. Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing, 6, 1-23.
58.
Poole, M. S.
(1990). Do we have any theories of group communication?Communication Studies, 41, 237-247.
59.
Poole, M. S.
, & DeSanctis, G. (1992). Microlevel structuration in computer-supported group decision making. Human Communication Research, 19, 5-49.
60.
Rao, V. S.
, & Jarvenpaa, S. L. (1991). Computer support of groups: Theory-based models for GDSS research. Management Science, 37, 1347-1362.
61.
Rose, R.
(1955). Twelve angry men. London: Samuel French.
62.
Srivastva, S.
, & Barrett, F. J. (1988). The transforming nature of metaphors in group development: A study in group theory. Human Relations, 41, 31-64.
63.
Stasser, G.
, & Stewart, D. D. (1992). Discovery of hidden profiles by decision-making groups: Solving a problem versus making a judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 426-434.
64.
Staw, B. M.
, Sandelands, L. E., & Dutton, J. E. (1981). Threat-rigidity effects in organizational behavior: A multi level analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 501-524.
65.
Steiner, I. D.
(1972). Group process and productivity. New York: Academic Press.
66.
Strassfeld, M.
(1985). The Jewish holidays: A guide & commentary. New York: Harper & Row.
67.
Tolstoy, L.
(1961). Anna Karenina (D. Magarshack, Trans). New York: New American Library. (Original work published 1877)
68.
Trevino, L. K.
, Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H. (1990). Understanding managers’ media choices: A symbolic interactionist perspective. In J. Fulk & C. Steinfield (Eds.), Organizations and communication technology (pp. 71-94). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
69.
Valacich, J. S.
, Jessup, L. M., Dennis, A. R., & Nunamaker, J. F. (1992). A conceptual framework of anonymity in group support systems. Group Decision and Negotiation, 1, 219-241.
70.
Walther, J. B.
(1993). Impression development in computer-mediated interaction. Western Journal of Communication, 57, 381-398.
71.
Watzlawick, P.
, Weaklund, J., & Fisch, R. (1974). Change: principles of problem formation and problem resolution. New York: Norton.
72.
Webber, A. L.
, & Rice, T. (1970). Jesus Christ Superstar. London: Leeds Music.
73.
Weick, K. E.
, & Meader, D. K. (1993). Sensemaking and group systems. In L. M. Jessup & J. S. Valacich (Eds.), Group support systems: New perspectives (pp. 230-252). New York: Macmillan.
74.
Weisband, S. P.
, Schneider, S. K., & Connolly, T. (1995). Computer-mediated communication and social information: Status salience and status differences. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 1124-1151.
75.
Wells, L.
(1990). The group as a whole: A systemic socioanalytic perspective on interpersonal and group relations. In J. Gillette & M. McCollom (Eds.), Groups in context: A new perspective on group dynamics (pp. 49-85). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
76.
Wiener, N.
(1964). God and Golem, Inc.: A comment on certain points where cybernetics impinges on religion. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
77.
Wilson, E. V.
, & Zigurs, I. (1998, August). A study of interpersonal influence goals in computer-mediated communication. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, San Diego, CA.
78.
Wood, W.
, Lundgren, S., Ouellette, J. A., Busceme, S., & Blackstone, T. (1994). Minority influence: A meta-analytic review of social influence processes. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 323-345.
79.
Zigurs, I.
, DeSanctis, G., & Billingsley, J. (1991). Adoption patterns and attitudinal development in computer-supported meetings: An exploratory study with SAMM. Journal of Management Information Systems, 7, 51-70.
80.
Zigurs, I.
, & Kozar, K. A. (1994). An exploratory study of roles in computer-supported groups. MIS Quarterly, 18, 277-297.
81.
Zigurs, I.
, Poole, M. S., & DeSanctis, G. L. (1988). A study of influence in computer-mediated group decision making. MIS Quarterly, 12, 645-665.
82.
Zuber, J.
, Crott, H. W., & Werner, J. (1992). Choice shift and group polarization: An analysis of the status of arguments and social decision schemes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 50-61.
