An empirical investigation of the impact of computer support on group development

The authors report on a study aimed at integrating group development into group decision support systems (GDSS) research. Emphasis is placed on the following two questions: (1) Does computer support affect the development of decision making groups and (2) Do the patterns of development differ over time between computer-supported and manual groups? These two questions were studied using a two-factorial repeated measures research design. Results showed significant differences in development patterns between computer-supported groups and manual groups in terms of conflict management and degree of cohesiveness. After adapting to GDSS, computer-supported groups displayed more productive conflict management and higher group cohesiveness