Do we have any theories of group communication?

Abstract
The essay presents criteria for a “good theory” and then reviews advances in small group communication research during the 1980s. The fact that comparatively few scholars are dedicated to such research is then related to the criteria for good theory in discussions of, first, metaphors and imagination; second, puzzles and problems; and third, real‐world significance and outcomes. A call is made for the kind of research that will result in better small group theory.