Exploring the boundaries of successful GSS application: supporting inter-organizational policy networks

Authors:
Gert-Jan de Vreede;Hans de Bruijn
Affiliations:
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands;Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Venue:
ACM SIGMIS Database
Year:
1999

Citing 10
Cited 7

“A study of influence in computer-mediated group decision making"

Management Information Systems Quarterly
Electronic meeting systems

Communications of the ACM - Special issue on computer graphics: state of the arts
A comparison of laboratory and field research in the study of electronic meeting systems

Journal of Management Information Systems - Special issue on management support systems
Information technology for negotiating groups: generating options for mutual gain

Management Science
Culture: a fourth dimension of group support systems

Communications of the ACM
An experiment assessing group support system and facilitator effects on meeting outcomes

Management Science
A theory of task/technology fit and group support systems effectiveness

MIS Quarterly
Measuring satisfaction in GSS meetings

ICIS '97 Proceedings of the eighteenth international conference on Information systems
User Satisfaction in Group Support Systems Research: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Results

HICSS '98 Proceedings of the Thirty-First Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - Volume 1
Lessons from a dozen years of group support systems research: a discussion of lab and field findings

Journal of Management Information Systems - Special issue: Information technology and its organizational impact

Understanding GDSS in symbolic context: shifting the focus from technology to interaction

MIS Quarterly - Special issue on Intensive research in information systems: using qualitative, interpretive, and case methods to study information technology—third installment
Field experiences with collaboration technology: A comparative study in Tanzania and South Africa

Information Technology for Development
ThinkLets: a collaboration engineering pattern language

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology
Repeatable Collaboration Processes for Mature Organizational Policy Making

Groupware: Design, Implementation, and Use
A Meta-Theory for Understanding Information Systems Within Sociotechnical Systems

Journal of Management Information Systems
The adoption and use of GSS in project teams: toward more participative processes and outcomes

MIS Quarterly
Vital signs for virtual teams: an empirically developed trigger model for technology adaptation interventions

MIS Quarterly

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.01

Visualization

Abstract

Technologies used to support group work are based on, and contain underlying assumptions regarding, how people work together. The appropriateness of such assumptions is an important factor in determining the successful employment of the technology. This paper uses an action research approach to explore the boundaries of effective GSS application by challenging the basic assumptions built into GSS. This exploration is carried out in the context of a particular arena in which groups have to interact to reach a certain goal: inter-organizational policy networks. From nine cases it appears that GSS are most effective in the orientation phase of inter-organizational policy making, while GSS should be avoided during the separation phase where winners and losers can be identified. During the package deal phase of an inter-organizational policy making process, GSS may have added value to offer, but the technology should be employed with caution. These findings are consistent with various experimental studies that found that GSS application is more successful for creativity tasks than for preference tasks and mixed motive tasks.