Asynchronous and distributed process improvement: the role of collaborative technologies

Abstract. The recent proliferation of low‐cost computer networks has driven the development of a new type of organization, in which geographical and time constraints to collaboration among process teams have been gradually removed. As these organizations have to cope with a fast pace of change, they rely increasingly on distributed and asynchronous process improvement (PI) groups to redesign their processes. Yet little is known about the effects of asynchronous group support systems (GSSs) on PI groups. We investigate the effects of asynchronous GSSs on PI groups through a two‐stage action research study of 38 such groups in three organizations, one in Brazil and two in New Zealand, over 4 years and 4 months. Different PI groups voluntarily conducted all, part or none of their communication through an e‐mail conferencing (EC) tool. The research suggests that EC support causes a decrease in the organizational costs associated with PI groups, which, combined with an increase in the number of possible simultaneous PI groups, generates an increase in overall organizational PI efficiency. The research also suggests a neutral overall effect of EC support on PI group outcome quality. Two explanatory causal models summarizing these effects are developed, and implications for research and industry practice are discussed.

[1]  Flaviu Cristian,et al.  Synchronous and Asynchronous Group Communication. , 1996 .

[2]  Richard L. Baskerville,et al.  Distinguishing action research from participative case studies , 1997 .

[3]  K. Hambridge.  Action research. , 2000, Professional nurse.

[4]  D. Hutchins.  Quality Circles Handbook , 1985 .

[5]  Flaviu Cristian,et al.  Synchronous and asynchronous , 1996, CACM.

[6]  Thomas Y. Choi,et al.  Conceptualizing continuous improvement: Implications for organizational change , 1995 .

[7]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Methodology-Driven Use of Automated Support in Business Process Re-Engineering , 1994, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[8]  Clarence A. Ellis,et al.  Groupware: some issues and experiences , 1991, CACM.

[9]  William J. Kettinger,et al.  BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING: Building a Comprehensive Methodology , 1993 .

[10]  Robert P. Bostrom,et al.  The Structuring of Creative Processes using GSS: A Framework for Research , 1994, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[11]  H. Klein,et al.  Information systems research: contemporary approaches and emergent traditions , 1991 .

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

[13]  Viviane M. J. Robinson,et al.  The Origins and Status of Action Research , 1984 .

[14]  Alan R. Dennis,et al.  Business process re-engineering with groupware , 1995, Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[15]  Jim Sheffield,et al.  Using Electronic Meeting Technology to Support Economic Policy Development in New Zealand: Short-Term Results , 1993, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[16]  M. El-den,et al.  Emerging Varieties of Action Research: Introduction to the Special Issue , 1993 .

[17]  A. Strauss,et al.  Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. , 1993 .

[18]  Steven A. Stanton Michael Hammer.  The Reengineering Revolution , 1996 .

[19]  Alan R. Dennis,et al.  Re-engineering business process modeling , 1994, 1994 Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[20]  Joseph G. Voelkel,et al.  Guide to Quality Control , 1982 .

[21]  Jonathan Grudin,et al.  Why CSCW Applications Fail: Problems in the Design and Evaluation of Organization of Organizational Interfaces. , 1988 .

[22]  W. Edwards Deming,et al.  Out of the Crisis , 1982 .

[23]  Alan R. Dennis,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Participant Satisfaction in Group Support Systems Research , 1996, ICIS.

[24]  Graham Pervan.  The measurement of GSS effectiveness: a meta-analysis of the literature and recommendations for future GSS research , 1994, 1994 Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

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

[26]  Jonathan Grudin,et al.  Groupware and social dynamics: eight challenges for developers , 1994, CACM.

[27]  T. Davenport.  Need radical innovation and continuous improvement? Integrate process reengineering and TQM , 1993 .

[28]  Henry Mintzberg.  The Manager's Job: Folklore and Fact. , 1975 .

[29]  Harvey F. Kolodny,et al.  Quality Circles: A Practical Guide. , 1984 .

[30]  Jay F. Nunamaker,et al.  Affective Reward and the Adoption of Group Support Systems: Productivity Is Not Always Enough , 1995, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[31]  Youngjin Yoo,et al.  Effects of electronic communication technology on top management teams' structures and decision-making process outcome , 1997, ICIS '97.

[32]  P. Checkland.  From framework through experience to learning: The essential nature of action research , 1991 .

[33]  F. Lau,et al.  A review on the use of action research in information systems studies , 1997 .

[34]  Robert J. McQueen.  The effect of voice input on information exchange in computer supported asynchronous group communication , 1992 .

[35]  M. Hammer,et al.  Reengineering the Corporation , 1993 .

[36]  Donna B. Stoddard,et al.  Reengineering: Business Change of Mythic Proportions? , 1994, MIS Q..

[37]  A. Strauss,et al.  The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research aldine de gruyter , 1968 .

[38]  Robert Davison.  The Development of an Instrument for Measuring the Suitabiltiy of Using GSS on Support Meetings , 1995, PACIS.

[39]  C. Barnatt.  Office Space, Cyberspace and Virtual Organization , 1995 .

[40]  M. Walton,et al.  Deming Management at Work , 1990 .

[41]  B. Glaser.  Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory , 1978 .

[42]  Richard Winter,et al.  Learning from experience : principles and practice in action-research , 1989 .

[43]  G. Susman,et al.  An Assessment of the Scientific Merits of Action Research. , 1978 .

[44]  Robert J. McQueen,et al.  Can action research be made more rigorous in a positivist sense? The contribution of an iterative approach , 1997 .

[45]  Kevin J. Dooley,et al.  Productivity as a Performance Measure , 1992 .

[46]  Trevor Wood-Harper,et al.  A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research , 1996, J. Inf. Technol..

[47]  R. Daft,et al.  The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill , 1988 .

[48]  Richard E. Yellen,et al.  Extraversion and introversion in electronically-supported meetings , 1995, Inf. Manag..

[49]  T. Jick.  Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action. , 1979 .

[50]  P. Senge.  THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE , 1997 .

[51]  G. D. Vreede.  Facilitating Organizational Change: The Participative Application of Dynamic Modelling , 1995 .

[52]  Wolfram Pietsch,et al.  Business Process Reengineering , 1994, Wirtschaftsinf..

[53]  Nereu F. Kock,et al.  Product flow, breadth and complexity of business processes: An empirical study of 15 business processes in three organizations , 1996 .

[54]  Ned Kock,et al.  Process Improvement and Organizational Learning: The Role of Collaboration Technologies , 1999 .

[55]  Gordon S. Blair,et al.  CSCW and Distributed Systems: The Problem of Control , 1991, ECSCW.

[56]  Howard E. Aldrich,et al.  Note—Mintzberg was Right!: A Replication and Extension of The Nature of Managerial Work , 1983 .

[57]  Jeffrey K. Liker,et al.  Bringing Japanese Continuous Improvement Approaches to U.S. Manufacturing: The Roles of Process Orientation and Communications* , 1995 .

[58]  Wanda J. Orlikowski,et al.  Learning from Notes: organizational issues in groupware implementation , 1992, CSCW '92.

[59]  R. Belfield.  The process of innovation. , 1977, Science.

[60]  Starr Roxanne Hiltz,et al.  Distributed Group Support Systems , 1993, MIS Q..

[61]  R. Rapoport.  Three Dilemmas in Action Research , 1970 .

[62]  Michael Hammer,et al.  Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate , 1990 .