GSS PARTICIPATION - A CULTURAL EXAMINATION

It has been suggested that group support systems (GSS) reduce many mee ting participation barriers. GSS impact may interact with culture, the reby affecting GSS efficacy in a given context. However, since the maj ority of GSS research is based on studies in the United States, implic ations of this interaction for different cultural settings are not obv ious. A research model is developed to help identify effects of cultur al settings. Hofstede's cultural dimensions of power di stance, indivi dualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity are employed as examp le settings. Parallel and anonymous entry are employed as example GSS functionalities. The research model's usefulness is then illustrated b y generating research propositions focusing on interactions of these s ettings and functionalities. Further examples employing other cultural settings and GSS functionalities are then suggested as evidence that the model is robust as well as useful. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.