The gender impact of temporary virtual work groups

Much knowledge work involves temporary work teams. Increasingly, these teams are not face-to-face but virtual teams. The paper explores the gender impact of virtual collaboration as compared to face-to-face teams. Descriptive statistics are used to show the different perceptions of the group experience based on gender and on face-to-face versus virtual team experiences. Women in the virtual groups perceived that the group stuck together more and helped each other more than did the men. Also, the women were more satisfied with the virtual group than men and felt that group conflict was readily resolved. In comparing the experience of women in the virtual groups to women in the face-to-face groups, the face-to-face women were less satisfied with the group experience than their virtual counterparts and perceived that conflict was smoothed over.

[1]  Ulrike Schultze,et al.  A Confessional Account of an Ethnography About Knowledge Work , 2000, MIS Q..

[2]  John J. Sviokla.  Knowledge Workers and Radically New Technology , 2000 .

[3]  K. Hawkins,et al.  Gender Differences in Questions Asked During Small Decision-Making Group Discussions , 1999 .

[4]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Gender Differences in the Perception and Use of E-Mail: An Extension to the Technology Acceptance Model , 1997, MIS Q..

[5]  Dale E. Brashers,et al.  Sex differences and group argument: A theoretical framework and empirical investigation , 1997 .

[6]  L. Larkey,et al.  Toward a Theory of Communicative Interactions in Culturally Diverse Workgroups , 1996 .

[7]  Russell L. Kent,et al.  Effects of Sex and Gender Role on Leader Emergence , 1994 .

[8]  David W. Park,et al.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1994 .

[9]  Julia T. Wood.  Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture , 1993 .

[10]  Marshall Scott Poole,et al.  The Effects of Variations in Capabilities of GDSS Designs on Management of Cognitive Conflict in Groups , 1992, Inf. Syst. Res..

[11]  James-Joseph A. Diliberto.  A Communication Study of Possible Relationships between Psychological Sex Type and Decision-Making Effectiveness , 1992 .

[12]  S. Kiesler,et al.  Group decision making and communication technology , 1992 .

[13]  P. Andrews,et al.  Sex and Gender Differences in Group Communication , 1992 .

[14]  L. Gruenfeld,et al.  Masculinity, Femininity, and Behavior in Groups , 1992 .

[15]  R. Spears,et al.  Paralanguage and social perception in computer‐mediated communication , 1992 .

[16]  Warren E. Watson,et al.  Member competence, group interaction, and group decision making: A longitudinal study. , 1991 .

[17]  Kenneth L. Bettenhausen.  Five Years of Groups Research: What We Have Learned and What Needs to Be Addressed , 1991 .

[18]  Russell Spears,et al.  Computer-Mediated Communication, De-Individuation and Group Decision-Making , 1991, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[19]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  An Attribute Space for Organizational Communication Channels , 1990, Inf. Syst. Res..

[20]  Leonard M. Jessup,et al.  The Effects of Anonymity on GDSS Group Process with an Idea-Generating Task , 1990, MIS Q..

[21]  J. Valacich,et al.  Effects of anonymity and evaluative tone on idea generation in computer-mediated groups , 1990 .

[22]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Using Two Different Electronic Meeting System Tools for the Same Task: An Experimental Comparison , 1990, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[23]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Understanding the use of Group Decision Support Systems: The Theory of Adaptive Structuration , 1990 .

[24]  D. Tannen.  You just don't understand: women and men in conversation. morrow , 1990 .

[25]  Gerardine DeSanctis,et al.  Computer-Based Support for Group Problem-Finding: An Experimental Investigation , 1988, MIS Q..

[26]  W. Wood,et al.  Meta-analytic review of sex differences in group performance. , 1987, Psychological bulletin.

[27]  Paul S. Goodman,et al.  Understanding groups in organizations. , 1987 .

[28]  S. Kiesler,et al.  Group processes in computer-mediated communication☆ , 1986 .

[29]  G. Böhme,et al.  The Knowledge Society , 1986 .

[30]  The power to communicate: Gender differences as barriers , 1985 .

[31]  G. W. Hill.  Group versus individual performance: are n + 1 heads better than one?" psychological bulletin , 1982 .

[32]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Measuring And Assessing Organizations , 1980 .

[33]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  Replicating Bales Problem Solving Experiments on a Computerized Conference:A Pilot Study , 1978 .

[34]  R. Lakoff.  Language and woman's place , 1973, Language in Society.

[35]  P. Crosbie.  Interaction in small groups , 1975 .

[36]  S. Seashore.  Group cohesiveness in the industrial work group , 1955 .