Restrictive Group Support Systems as a Source of Process Structure for High and Low Procedural Order Groups

Most Group Support Systems (GSSs) have been designed to provide structure and process support for decision-making groups, but individuals and groups may have preferences for structuring group work that are not always compatible with the assumptions of GSS designers. This research reports a laboratory experiment which manipulated the degree of restrictive structure in a GSS and the preference for procedural order of the group. Performance was generally better when groups used the nonrestrictive GSS, although they were more satisfied with the restrictive environment. The results of this research suggest that preference for procedural order and restrictiveness moderates the manner in which technology-supported decision processes are used and perceived. These results have implications for the organizational implementation of current GSS configurations and for future GSS design.