Abstract
This paper reports on an experimental study of information sharing for groups using a group support system (GSS). Information sharing is important because a group member's success or failure in sharing unique information that he or she alone possesses can have important impacts onthe group's success. This research builds on work by Stasser and colleagues (Stasser & Titus, 1985, 1987, Stasser, Taylor, & Hanna, 1989, Stasser, 1992) which examined various factors that impact on group information sharing performance. To examine these issues, groups processed a hidden profile task; that is, a task with an asymmetrical distribution of information. In addition, group size (groups of size four and size seven) and the type of structure used during the meeting (structured or unstructured meeting agenda) were manipulated. The results for group size indicate that smaller sized groups were more likely to select a better solution, however, no significant differences were found related to group size for other performance measures or for the perceptual variables. The results for the meeting structure manipulation indicate that a structured agenda leads to better information sharing performance but that it also results in more negative perceptions about the meeting. The paper concludes with a discussion of the findings and the implications for future research and GSS use
Recommended Citation
Mennecke, Brian E., "An Experimental Examination of Group Information Sharing, Group Size, and Meeting Structures for Groups Using a Group Support System" (1995). AMCIS 1995 Proceedings. 29.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1995/29