A Process Study of Effects of GSS and Task Type on Informational and Normative Influence in Small Groups

This research examines the effects of GSS and task type on informational and normative influence in small groups by analyzing group process. It extends Kaplan and Miller' s research on task type and informational and normative influence in small groups in an unsupported setting to a GSS setting. The two tasks used are an intellective task and a preference task, and the two support levels are unsupported baseline and GSS support. The findings show that (1) the mode of influence that predominates in group discussion depends on task type, but the degree of dominance is moderated by support level, and (2) GSS has the potential to encourage the use of informational influence in intellective task groups and discourage the use of normative influence in preference task groups. These findings suggest that task type may have significant effects on influence behavior in small groups and a GSS may have some beneficial effects for certain task types but not for others. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further research.