The impact of group support systems on group conflict and conflict management: an empirical investigation

The authors report on a study of the impact of group support systems (GSS) use on groups over the duration of five sessions spaced a week apart. The issue of primary interest in the study was the impact of GSS use on the nature of group conflict and conflict management. Twenty-five groups participated in the study. The first session was a training session. The four subsequent sessions were decision-making sessions, requiring a consensus decision from each group. Subjects reported on the nature of group conflict, conflict management strategies used, and their perceptions on the productivity of conflict. Groups in the GSS-support condition experienced more issue-based conflict in two decision-making sessions than the control groups, and less in the other other two sessions. Overall, GSS-supported groups reported significantly less interpersonal conflict than did control groups