By mid-1998, approximately 200 different controlled experiments had been published in 230 articles in refereed journals or major conference proceedings, which examined processes and outcomes in computer-supported group decision making. This paper is a concise overview of what has been studied and how: the systems, independent, intervening, adaptation, and dependent variables, manipulated or measured, and experimental procedures employed. Part I categorizes the contextual and intervening factors. Part II analyzes 1,582 hypotheses resulting from pairings of independent and dependent variables. The results show that the modal outcome for GSS systems compared with face-to-face (FtF) methods is "no difference," while the overall percentage of positive effects for hypotheses that compare GSS with FtF is a disappointing 16.6 percent. Experiments with seven to ten groups per treatment condition working on idea-generation tasks and using GSS technology show an improvement up to 29.0 percent. These results are moderated by technology, process structure, communication mode, group factors, task type, the number of experimental groups per treatment condition, and the type of dependent variable measured. The purpose of this paper is to aid the GSS researcher by presenting detailed results of what has been studied and found in previous experiments, along with a discussion of what needs to be studied.

An assessment of group support systems experimental research: methodology and results

For some years there has been much debate between various stakeholders about the need for accounting graduates to develop a broader set of skills to be able to pursue a career in the accounting profession. This study uses mixed methods to examine perceptions and expectations of two major stakeholders: students and employers. Findings indicate that students are becoming aware of employers’ expectations in terms of communication, analytical, professional and teamwork skills. While employers are still expecting a good understanding of basic accounting skills and strong analytical skills, they are also requiring ‘business awareness’ and knowledge in terms of the ‘real world’. Both students and employers report that many of the ‘essential’ non technical and professional skills and attributes are not being developed sufficiently in university accounting programs.

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What skills and attributes does an accounting graduate need? Evidence from student perceptions and employer expectations

The present paper advances theoretical propositions regarding the relationship between acculturation and identity. The most central thesis argued is that acculturation represents changes in cultural identity and that personal identity has the potential to ‘anchor’ immigrant people during their transition to a new society. The article emphasizes the experiences of nonwhite, non-Western immigrant people moving to Western nations. The article also calls for research on heretofore unexplored aspects of the relationship of acculturation to personal and social identity. Ideas are proposed for interventions to promote cultural identity change and personal identity coherence.

The Role of Identity in Acculturation among Immigrant People: Theoretical Propositions, Empirical Questions, and Applied Recommendations

Information systems (IS) researchers have begun to investigate how national culture, as articulated by Hofstede, affects a wide variety of issues. A citation analysis of IS articles that cite Hofstede's research on national culture suggests that most research is focused on issues related to IS management and to IS, while issues related to IS development and operations and to IS usage remain relatively unexamined. Within the dominant categories, research is concentrated in the IS management and types of information systems subcategories. Furthermore, the dimensions of national culture outlined by Hofstede have not been frequently used to develop and to build theory. Research opportunities and approaches to develop a stronger cumulative tradition and theory for international IS issues are proposed.

Information systems research and Hofstede's culture's consequences: an uneasy and incomplete partnership

Communication through computer networks, electronic salons, and virtual communities has its price. Often relatively anonymous and socially detached, electronic communication allows people to write things online that they would seldom consider saying face-to-face, sometimes generating flames. In a study of the motives to flame based upon Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), 160 subjects generated comments anonymously in parallel with a group support system (GSS) idea generation program. Results showed that high levels of assertiveness and sensation seeking predicted flaming, and males tended to participate more in the activity than did females.

Flaming in electronic communication

Electronic brainstorming in small and large groups

Questionnaires from 277 Muslim immigrants revealed that most were more inclined to retain their original national culture for their private and/or social lives than to adopt the U.S. national cultu...

The Acculturation of Immigrants to U.S. Organizations: The Case of Muslim Employees.

Many surveys of World Wide Web and Internet use have been conducted, but few have focused on students at colleges and universities. Here, a case study of 214 undergraduate and graduate students at two universities in the USA, provides a glimpse of how students use a campus information system for e‐mail, downloading movies and music, and other purposes.

College student Internet use

A Group Decision Support System (GDSS) can be used to lower or break barriers to group communication that are caused by differences in language and culture among meeting participants. This paper describes typical examples of communication barriers among group members with different cultural and lingual backgrounds and how a GDSS can help with these problems. The paper also describes a prototype GDSS developed at the University of Mississippi that translates among English, German, and Spanish.

A group decision support system for multicultural and multilingual communication

In this article, we take a look at why and how managers should communicate with their employees the value of scientific management and why it is still relevant today. Moreover, we will show managers how they should use communication to address employees’ feelings of unfairness. Finally, we will present a hypothetical case example that will help make clear the main points of how managers should use communication to teach their present-day employees the value of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s principles of scientific management and how to use concepts from Equity Theory to confront employees’ feelings of inequity in a modern business environment. The case will be followed with questions concerning the applicability of these two theories when managers are training subordinates, who are not college graduates, to do their work.

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Jeanette S. Martin

Papers

Electronic brainstorming in small and large groups

The Acculturation of Immigrants to U.S. Organizations: The Case of Muslim Employees.

College student Internet use

A group decision support system for multicultural and multilingual communication

The Relevance of Scientific Management and Equity Theory in Everyday Managerial Communication Situations