Effects of facilitation and leadership on meeting outcomes in a group support system environment

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of facilitation and leadership on outcomes of meetings involving group support systems (GSS). It extends existing GSS literature by examining the critical roles of facilitation and leadership simultaneously within a single study. A 2x2 factorial controlled laboratory experiment was conducted. A preference task, which had no objective correct answers, was employed. Ten five-person groups completed each treatment. Independent variables were facilitation (with vs without) and leadership (with vs without). During their meetings, facilitators and leaders carried out task and interactional interventions respectively. Dependent variables were measures of meeting success (post-meeting consensus, decision confidence, discussion quality, and process satisfaction). Results reveal that: (1) facilitation appears to raise decision confidence; (2) leadership appears to enhance discussion quality and process satisfaction; (3) in the absence of leadership, facilitation seems to lower post-meeting consensus; and (4) in the absence of facilitation, leadership seems to raise post-meeting consensus. These results are compared with findings from prior related studies. Implications of these results for practice are discussed. © 1999 Operational Research Society Ltd. All rights reserved.