A model of group satisfaction in computer-mediated communication and face-to-face meetings

This study attempts to present a model of member satisfaction with group decision process. Three variables: ease of use (EOU) of the communication medium; participation; and decision confidence (DC), were explored as determinants of member satisfaction. The study offers an explanation of the effects of these variables on group process satisfaction in two communication media: a nearly synchronous text-based computermediated communication (CMC) and traditional face-to-face communication (FTF). Results indicate that these variables were good predictors of member satisfaction. Regression and correlation analyses help to validate the model for the two communication media using the ordering of the predictor variables and the strength of the relationship. Results confirm that ease of use showed the most contribution to satisfaction and that ease of use is lower in CMC than in FTF. The findings also confirm the effect of communication medium on member satisfaction.

[1]  J. P. Wanous,et al.  Measurement and meaning of job satisfaction. , 1972 .

[2]  N. Melone.  A theoretical assessment of the user-satisfaction construct in information systems research , 1990 .

[3]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[4]  Mary J. Culnan,et al.  The dimensions of accessibility to online information: implications for implementing office information systems , 1984, TOIS.

[5]  J. Walther,et al.  Relational communication in computer-mediated interaction , 1990 .

[6]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  User satisfaction with computer-mediated communication systems , 1990 .

[7]  Sammy W. Pearson,et al.  Development of a Tool for Measuring and Analyzing Computer User Satisfaction , 1983 .

[8]  Michael L. Hecht,et al.  Toward a conceptualization of communication satisfaction , 1978 .

[9]  R. Rice.  Media Appropriateness Using Social Presence Theory to Compare Traditional and New Organizational Media , 1993 .

[10]  Michael Diehl,et al.  Productivity loss in idea-generating groups: Tracking down the blocking effect. , 1991 .

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

[12]  M. Hecht.  The Conceptualization and Measurement of Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction. , 1978 .

[13]  J. Walther.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1992 .

[14]  C. Nass,et al.  Voices, boxes, and sources of messages: Computers and social actors. , 1993 .

[15]  M. Hecht.  Measures of Communication Satisfaction , 1978 .

[16]  Ronald E. Rice,et al.  Electronic Message Systems in the University: A Description of Use and Utility , 1983 .

[17]  Gloria J. Galanes,et al.  Small, Task-Oriented Groups , 1987 .

[18]  W. E. Jurma,et al.  Leadership Structuring Style, Task Ambiguity, and Group Member Satisfaction , 1978 .

[19]  M. Diehl,et al.  Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: Toward the solution of a riddle. , 1987 .

[20]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[21]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design , 1986 .

[22]  John Short,et al.  The social psychology of telecommunications , 1976 .

[23]  Joann Keyton,et al.  Evaluating Individual Group Member Satisfaction as a Situational Variable , 1991 .

[24]  M. Lewis-Beck.  Applied Regression: An Introduction , 1980 .

[25]  D. Larcker,et al.  PERCEIVED USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION: A PSYCHOMETRIC EXAMINATION* , 1980 .

[26]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Communication Concurrency and the New Media , 1993 .

[27]  Joseph E. McGrath,et al.  Time matters in groups , 1990 .

[28]  Lee Sproull,et al.  Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication , 1986 .

[29]  Gloria J. Galanes,et al.  The SYMLOG dimensions and small group conflict , 1986 .

[30]  Dennis S. Gouran.  Correlates of member satisfaction in group decision‐making discussions , 1973 .

[31]  J. Walther.  Anticipated Ongoing Interaction Versus Channel Effects on Relational Communication in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1994 .

[32]  Michael T. Vanecek,et al.  Dispersed Group Decision Making Using Nonsimultaneous Computer Conferencing: A Report of Research , 1990, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[33]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Message Equivocality, Media Selection, and Manager Performance: Implications for Information Systems , 1987, MIS Q..

[34]  Blake Ives,et al.  The measurement of user information satisfaction , 1983, CACM.

[35]  G. Hiemstra.  Teleconferencing, Concern for Face, and Organizational Culture , 1982 .

[36]  J. Webster,et al.  Flow in Computer-Mediated Communication , 1992 .

[37]  S. R. Hiltz,et al.  Experiments in group decision making: Communication process and outcome in face-to-face versus computerized conferences. , 1986 .

[38]  D. Dunphy,et al.  Three Dimensions of Member Satisfaction in Small Groups , 1964 .

[39]  Bolanle A. Olaniran,et al.  Group Performance in Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Communication Media , 1994 .