A RESEARCH FRAMEWORK FOR GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Over the last decade, many methodologies and techniques have been devi sed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cooperative working . The efficacy of many of these approaches has not been rigorously ass essed, causing doubt about their applicability and helping restrict th eir use. Additionally, research effort has been dissipated. The need i s for a generally agreed framework within which research can be conduc ted and results determined. This article proposes such a framework, in volving the identification of the context, process, and outcome variab les which, a priori, are deemed important to understanding, and subseq uently predicting, the appropriate forms of intervention in the workin gs of groups. Six major components have been identified: the organizat ional environment, the group context, the process context, the group p rocess, the substantive outcomes, and process performance indicators. Within these six components, 16 macrovariables have been identified. W ithin these macrovariables, 90 variables have been selected that chara cterize an issue-handling situation and its outcomes. The framework is applicable to a very wide range of group support systems used in many contexts.