Collaborative technology and group process feedback: their impact on interactive sequences in meetings

Abstract

We analyzed group collaborative behavior by detecting patterns of interactive sequences in meetings using time series analysis. This is in contrast to previous work in which frequency counts of interactions were analyzed. Researchers have reported a decrease of these interaction frequencies associated with the use of computer-supported collaborative technology [Appl86, McGu87, Sieg86, Wats88]. We found that if group process feedback is given to people participating in a computer-supported collaborative technology meeting, the number of socio-emotional interactive sequences increases significantly above the expected level determined by log-linear analysis. In contrast, when using collaborative computer technology alone (no feedback), there is a substantial reduction in the number of socio-emotional interactive sequences below the expected level. These findings have implications for the efficient use of computer technology in terms of maximizing its collaborative potential.