The Impact of Normative Social Influence on Group Homogeneity in Media Preferences and Group Meeting Outcomes

This paper empirically investigates the impact of normative social influence on group homogeneity in media preferences and group meeting outcomes in a setting where 58 student groups voluntarily used various communication media over a three-month software development project period. Group homogeneity in media preferences was argued to mediate the impact of normative social influence on group meeting outcomes. The overall results suggest that conformity to group norms is positively associated with increased group homogeneity in media preferences, which in turn is positively associated with increased group meeting outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the importance and implications of understanding normative social influence on technology use and

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