The Implications of Group Development and History for Group Support System Theory and Practice

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Abstract
The psychology, sociology, and management literature is rich with theory on the topic of group development. Three general categories of developmental models have been proposed: progressive models, cyclical models, and nonsequential models. These models predict that group performance, member behavior, and task focus change as the group matures and develops. Groups are integral components of organizations. Group support systems (GSSs) have been created to assist groups in performing their tasks and activities. Numerous research studies have been conducted to identify key variables that influence group performance in GSS environments. Many of these studies have produced mixed and, in some cases, conflicting results. This may be due partially to a lack of attention to the issue of group development. Few studies have looked at the influence that group development and group history have on group behavior and performance. Only two GSS studies have been conducted on the effects of group development and group history on group process, performance, and efficiency. To facilitate additional research into this area, a research framework that incorporates a mechanism for representing this development process is proposed In addition, a number of propositions implied by the relationships represented in this framework are presented and discussed

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