An experimental investigation of electronic focus groups

Recently, we began applying Group support systems (GSS) tools to tasks and groups that are uncharacteristic of the GSS research literature. Instead of using GSS tools on tasks requiring a solution, a decision, or any threshold consensus measure, we examined the potential utility that these tools have in the area of marketing research, specifically with focus groups. The results of an experimental study to validate the use of this technique are presented. The results indicate that GSS can offer improvements in the areas of, number of comments, focus on the task, and distribution of participation, while not suffering a loss of participant satisfaction. Additionally the results show some promise that the size of focus groups can be increased through the use of GSS technology.