The Temporal Dimension of Electronic Meetings: A Study of Synchronous and Asynchronous Idea Generation

Electronic meeting systems can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of group discussions, but relatively little research has investigated use of the technology in asynchronous environments. In this study, five groups of 10 students participated in synchronous legislative sessions and five groups of 10 met in asynchronous settings. Results showed that there were no differences in meeting process satisfaction, production blocking, evaluation apprehension, and total and relevant comments generated, but synchronous groups believed there was more participation and were more satisfied with the comments. Although there could be less feeling of social presence, use of asynchronous, distributed meetings might become more prevalent as groups seek to reduce travel.