An investigation of the influence of national culture and group support systems on group processes and outcomes

Abstract

Group support systems (GSS) have been shown to be effective in a variety of managerial applications such as business process reengineering, strategic planning, and intelligence gathering. The majority of experiments and case studies that have reported GSS effectiveness, however, have been conducted in Western environments, which have individualistic and low power-distance cultures. It is not clear, however, if features such as anonymity and equal access to participation are effective in Asian cultures, which are collectivistic and high power-distance. This study reports a cross-cultural experiment using Hong Kong and U.S. students that examines the influence of GSS and national culture on group processes, meeting satisfaction, and group outcomes. Results indicate that the influence of GSS was consistent with prior research but the influence of culture was much less predictable.