An investigation of meeting satisfaction in GSS and FTF meetings

Meeting satisfaction is an important construct in the field of research on group support systems (GSSs). This is because unless the use of GSS technology produces an increase in meeting satisfaction, it is unlikely that users will seek to adopt the technology, regardless of any productivity gains that might be realized. If the underlying causes of meeting satisfaction can be identified, then researchers and designers will be better equipped to study and build systems that facilitate meeting satisfaction without sacrificing meeting productivity. This paper presents a causal model of meeting satisfaction that builds on existing literature. The model is tested with a controlled investigation consisting of 26 groups engaged in the "Lost at Sea" task - 15 GSS and 11 FTF (face-to-face) groups. Structural equation modeling was used to validate the model and the results suggest strong support for the model's integrity. A number of implications for researchers and practitioners are identified and discussed. These include identifying situations where low meeting satisfaction could be a problem and how the model can be used to guide future GSS research.