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Article Groupware implementation: reinvention in the sociotechnical frame Share on Authors: Tora K. Bikson The RAND Corporation, 1700 Main St., Santa Monica CA The RAND Corporation, 1700 Main St., Santa Monica CAView Profile , J. D. Eveland California School of Professional Psychology, 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra CA California School of Professional Psychology, 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra CAView Profile Authors Info & Claims CSCW '96: Proceedings of the 1996 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative workNovember 1996 Pages 428–437https://doi.org/10.1145/240080.240355Online:16 November 1996Publication History 19citation892DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations19Total Downloads892Last 12 Months20Last 6 weeks1 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteGet Access

What happens when task groups attempt to couple the advantages of online text preparation or data analysis and decision support with computer-based communication capabilities? How, if at all, does networked information technology affect group structures and interaction processes? And do positive answers to these questions depend on having a technology rich environment with computer-sophisticated individuals to start with, or could almost anyone reap significant advantages if provided with basic computer and communications technology?

It is frequently suggested that work groups that have computer technology to support activities such as text editing, data manipulation, and communication develop systematically different structures and working processes from groups that rely on more conventional technologies such as memos, phone calls, and meetings. However, cross-sectional or retrospective research designs do not allow this hypothesis to be tested with much power. This field experiment created two task forces, each composed equally of recently retired employees and employees still at work but eligible to retire. They were given the identical tasks of preparing reports for their company on retirement planning issues, but they were randomly assigned to different technology conditions. One group had full conventional office support; the other had, in addition, networked microcomputers with electronic mail and routine office software. Structured interviews were conducted four times during the year-long project; in addition, electronic mail activity was logged in the on-line group. Although both groups produced effective reports, the two differed significantly in the kind of work they produced, the group structures that emerged, and evaluations of their own performance. Although the standard group was largely dominated by the employees through the extensive reliance on informal meetings, the electronic technology used by the other task force allowed the retirees to exercise primary leverage. We conclude that use of computer support for cooperative work results in both quantitative and qualitative changes but that effective participation in such electronically supported groups requires significant investments of time and energy on the part of its members to master the technology and a relatively high level of assistance during the learning process.

are critical to realizing full benefits from computersupported work (Hiltz and Turoff, 1978; Olsen and Lucas, 1982;Kiesler, Siegel and McGuire, 1984).Cooperative work depends on effective communication and on the ability of organizations to manage the technology of communication appropriately (Rogers and Agarwala-Rogers, 1976;Farace, Monge and Russell, 1977).Organizations that do not understand the political and social dimensions of their communications systems will inevitably fail to achieve their purposes (Hawes, 1974;Benson, 1975).

Article Free Access Share on Computer-supported cooperative work: examples and issues in one federal agency Authors: Cathleen Stasz The Rand Corporation The Rand CorporationView Profile , Tora K. Bikson The Rand Corporation The Rand CorporationView Profile Authors Info & Claims CSCW '86: Proceedings of the 1986 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative workDecember 1986 Pages 318–324https://doi.org/10.1145/637069.637111Online:03 December 1986Publication History 5citation314DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations5Total Downloads314Last 12 Months12Last 6 weeks1 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteeReaderPDF