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the group's information-processing capability,
increasing participation, and improving com-
munication by structuring the interaction with
technology (Ho & Raman, 1991). In this respect,
there are clear parallels between GSS studies and
structured group interaction techniques, such
as the nominal group technique and the Delphi
method (Turoff, Hiltz, Baghat, & Rana, 1993),
in which leadership and structured communica-
tion have been found to exert a significant influ-
ence on group outcomes. In fact, GSS research
has a strong tradition of studying the effects of
structuring group communication (Fjermestad &
Hiltz, 1998-1999). Investigation into the impact
of leadership on group performance, however, is
seldom part of GSS studies (Briggs, Nunamaker,
& Sprague, 1997-1998; Parent & Gallupe, 2001).
Out of about 230 published papers on GSS, only
6% investigated the effect of leadership in GSS
environments (Fjermestad & Hiltz, 1999).
Another little-explored area is the effect of
distributed group support systems (DGSS) on
dispersed groups, where all group members are
geographically and/or temporally dispersed and
interact asynchronously through computer-medi-
ated communication systems (CMCS) (Turoff et
al., 1993). Although there has been considerable
research on communication behavior in face-to-
face groups with GSS, there have been few ef-
forts to verify the generalizability of face-to-face
communication behaviors in distributed group
settings or to investigate factors of computer-
mediated communication that uniquely affect the
performance of distributed groups (Fjermestad,
2004).
Synthesizing previous studies, Bordia (1997)
reports several behavioral differences between
groups with CMCS and those with face-to-face
communication. The main reason for these
differences is that in computer-mediated com-
munication, the lack of social presences (Short,
Williams, & Christie, 1976) affects the perception
and interpretation of the meaning of the mes-
sages exchanged (Rice, 1984), making exchange
of information among dispersed group members
difficult (Hightower & Sayeed, 1996). This im-
plies that communication support for distributed
groups is necessary to overcome the potential
problems with limited bandwidth and lack of
social presences in CMCS (Hiltz & Johnson,
1990). In addition, the support for asynchronous
communication with CMCS should include ways
to support larger decision groups, improve the
participation of uncooperative subgroups, and deal
with critical mass activity phenomena (Turoff et
al., 1993). To this end, this study was designed
to look into the effects of leadership and com-
munication structuring on group performance
in asynchronously interacting distributed groups
with CMCS. In the following sections, the litera-
ture on leadership and GSS is briefly reviewed,
research design and methodology are explained,
and research findings are discussed.
leadership and group
support systems
Leadership, by its very nature, is the process
of directing and coordinating group interaction
(Jago, 1982). According to path-goal theory
(House, 1971), a leader affects group perfor-
mance by clarifying the path to the group's goals,
reducing obstacles that prevent the group from
reaching these goals, and trying to increase the
group's satisfaction as it works toward achieving
its goals. In doing so, a leader may define objec-
tives, maintain goal direction, provide the means
for goal attainment, provide and maintain group
structure, facilitate group action and interaction,
maintain group cohesiveness and member satisfac-
tion, and facilitate group task performance (Roby,
1961; Schutz, 1961). Leaders also establish and
maintain the link between satisfaction and group
performance by employing different leadership
styles whose effectiveness can be moderated by
the nature of the task, which may account for
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