User Experiences with Distributed Multimedia Conferencing Systems

A field study of a nationwide U.S. Department of Defense systems development project, combined with other laboratory experimentation, explores an underemphasized factor in current distributed multimedia conferencing and group support system theories. The ability of an organization to effectively manage its technology environment to deliver distributed support systems is shown to have direct impacts on both the potential performance inputs and group interaction processes of distributed group work, which ultimately affects performance outcomes. This paper blends results from the DoD field study with results from several non-DoD laboratory experiments to support a new model of distributed multimedia conferencing systems and their effect on distributed group process and performance.