GROUP DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND INCENTIVE STRUCTURES

Many studies have compared the advantages and disadvantages of meeting s using Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS), but relatively little r esearch has been conducted on the role of incentives in these meetings . An experiment was conducted with 40 eight-person groups to determine the influence of incentive distribution mode (group or individual) an d incentive type (positive or negative) on GDSS outcomes. Results indi cate that group performance, including task performance, consensus, pr ocess satisfaction, and participation, is higher if there are group-ba sed incentives, and that negative incentives or extinction result in m ore participation and less satisfaction. No interaction effects were f ound between incentive distribution mode and incentive type. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.