Divergent and Convergent Idea Generation in Teams: A Comparison of Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Communication

Many tasks and decisions in business, including management consulting, are performed in group settings. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools (e.g., Lotus Notes) are increasingly being used by businesses to support teams in a variety of settings. Considerable research in information systems has demonstrated the advantages of electronic brainstorming (EBS) for generic tasks involving only divergent thinking. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of CMC extend to tasks that require both divergent and convergent processes. Per task–technology fit theory (TTF) (Zigurs and Buckland 1998), the use of computer-based group communication support tools, including chat systems in wide-spread use today, may be less effective for convergent processes than for divergent processes. This study experimentally compares the performance of computer-mediated and face-to-face (FTF) teams on tasks requiring both divergent and convergent processes. Consistent with theoretical predictions, the results revealed that computer-mediated teams outperformed FTF teams in the divergent aspects of the tasks, while FTF teams outperformed computer-mediated teams in the convergent aspects of the tasks.     

浅析园区管委会思想政治工作的“融合”与“服务”

思想政治工作是国家和企业赖以存在的生命线。本文主要探讨了新形势下园区管委会思想政治工作面临的新问题和新挑战,并在此基础上,分析了加强和改进思想政治教育工作的方法和形式,从而增强其针对性和实效性,更好地发挥其导向和教化作用,促进单位整体的和谐。     

Cognitive factors that lead people to comply with spam email

Because of the annoyance and productivity loss associated with spam email, significant resources are devoted to detect and block it. Despite these deterrents, people receive and respond to spam email in sufficient numbers to support the continuing efforts of spammers. It is surprising given this situation that little is known about the cognitive processes that message receivers apply to evaluate spam email, although such knowledge could be useful in mitigating some of its worst aspects. We address this research gap by investigating three cognitive factors that are hypothesized to motivate individuals to comply with message requests. We find receivers’ perceptions of social presence and trust regarding the message sender and, to a lesser extent, receivers’ benefit goals explain over half of the variance in their intention to comply with a message request. In addition, receivers’ identification of the message sender as having strong interpersonal ties predicts their perception of trust and benefit goals related to the message, and we find that effects of strong interpersonal ties on receivers’ intention to comply with the message request are entirely mediated by the three cognitive factors we studied. Overall, the findings indicate that receivers who read spam email evaluate messages based on diverse criteria that vary substantially based on strength of their perceived interpersonal ties with the message sender.     

Emotions and the spatialisation of social relations in text‐based computer‐mediated communication

This paper advances our knowledge of emotions in virtual teams using text‐based computer‐mediated communication. The literature's preoccupation with the absence of physical cues of emotion has meant we lack both an understanding of how emotions are co‐constructed through interaction and an explanation of their role in the social relations of virtual teams. Adopting a communicative view of emotion, we present the findings of a longitudinal study of a virtual team within a transnational collaborative project. We present three aspects of interaction that demonstrate how team members' experience and understanding of the emotions expressed through, and suppressed from, text‐based messages are influenced by the styles and patterns of interaction enabled by technology. Where our three aspects tend towards stasis, we argue that emotion provides a temporal dimension to a process of ‘spatialising’ social relations by connoting what should change, or what should endure, between people.     

Hot Versus Cool Behavioural Styles in Electronic Negotiations: The Impact of Communication Mode

In this paper, we study the effects of synchronous and asynchronous communication mode on electronic negotiations. By applying content analysis, we compare the negotiation processes of two e-negotiation simulations conducted in a synchronous and an asynchronous setting. Our results show significant differences in communication behaviour of subjects. Synchronous negotiation mode leads to less friendly, more affective, and more competitive negotiation behaviour. In the asynchronous communication mode, negotiators exchange more private and task-oriented information and are friendlier. These results suggest that negotiators in the asynchronous mode, who have more time to reflect, cool down and control emotions better while negotiators, who communicate synchronously engage more in emotional and competitive “hot” debates. In addition, negotiators in the asynchronous mode are more satisfied with the process and outcome of the negotiation. We conclude that de-individuation and escalating effects might be caused by communication mode rather than by the ability of the media to transmit social cues.     

A Cognitive Three-Process Model of Computer-Mediated Group Interaction

Current theories imply text-based computer networks are socially barren, but computer-mediated interaction (CMI) research contradicts this. A cognitive perspective suggests individuals in groups construct cognitions regarding the task (purpose), other people (relationships), and the group (identity), and these drive the interaction. Three core psychological process follow: resolving task information, relating to others and representing the group. This gives three types of influence: informational, personal and normative, and three group purposes: task resolution, interpersonal relationships and group unity. Group unity occurs when group members represent a common identity. The traditional communication threads of message content and sender context therefore require a third - behavioural position. Many-to-many exchange of member positions allows the group position to be transmitted to the group. A picture emerges of three parallel processes overlapping in behaviour, although CMI allows them to be isolated and investigated. This model extends most theories of computer-mediated group interaction. It implies there is no best type of group interaction support, because there is no best process. The groupware challenge is to offer the flexibility to support all three processes in combination.     

EBT: A tool for electronic brainstorming researchers

EBT is a stand‐alone electronic brainstorming tool designed specifically for researchers. It can be used for face‐to‐face as well as dispersed groups, and will work in a typical college computer lab LAN environment. Its features include anonymous and nonanonymous idea‐generation modes, the ability to run multiple simultaneous sessions, and the option of generating a session logfile which indicates the originator and time of each idea generated during a session. EBT is available to researchers on the Internet via anonymous ftp.