An Organizational Culture Perspective for the Study of Group Support Systems

Most research on Group Support Systems has focused on the study of the effects of features of the technology on processes and outcomes and has conceived of groups as mere collections of individuals (DeSanctis 1993; Kling 1991). However, as GSSs are moving from laboratories to organizational settings, a better understanding of both GSSs and groups is needed (Clapper and Prasad 1993). In this sense, we propose a cultural perspective to rethink the issue of GSS appropriation in organizations. Specifically, it is proposed that lhe mode in which a GSS is appropriated is determined by the degree of fit between two sets of assumptions: (a) those embedded in the GSS during its design and (b) those that users have and that determine how they interact with the GSS. We rely on the organizational culture literature to analyze these two sets of assumptions and their implications for GSS appropriation, and to provide guidelines for future GSS research and design. 1. LNTRODUCTION GSS use and the mode of its appropriation are highly discretionary. The "user" is a group: not merely an Group Support Systems, like other information techi1010aggregation of individuals but a social entity with its own gies, reflect certain assumptions of their designers (Kraemer nature. These groups not only deal with unstructured and and King 1988; Orlikowski 1992a; Poole and DeSanctis sensitive tasks but fundamentally use these "occasions" to 1990; Winograd and Flores 1986); among them, assumpcreate and validate their social systems (Schwartzman tions about what meetings ought to be about and how 1989). decisions ought to be made. On the other hand, users of GSSs have their own set of assumptions about what meetIn this paper, we rely on the organizational culture literaings are about and how decisions have to be made (Schein ture which offers compelling perspectives to understand 1992). These two sets of assumptions may not fit and, groups and how they differ and to rethink the issue of GSS when they do not, the GSS will probably be appropriated in a manner inconsistent with its spirit or might simply be appropriation in organizations.