R.P. Bostrom

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• PhD
• Professor Emeritus at University of Georgia

Over the past two decades, conceptualizations of technology, teams, and time have evolved. We describe the relevance of established streams of research on small group behavior to understanding of new forms of large group collaboration online. We review the crowdfunding literature and identify technology affordances for early versus late impacts of...

Computer self-efficacy is one of the more important constructs in information systems (IS) research. Over the years, IS researchers have debated about its multifaceted nature. Yet, despite, extensive debate, we contend that for information systems, the conceptualization of various self-efficacy dimensions is incomplete. The primary dimension curren...

The growth in the application of information technology to student and employee learning underscores the need to understand the impact of Technology-Mediated Learning (TML) methods. Using previous developed TML models, based on Social Cognitive Theory and Adaptive Structuration Meta-Theory, the effectiveness of three training methods were examined...

End-User Training (EUT) has enjoyed a rich tradition of research in Information Systems. However, with the growing pace of change in technology and the dynamic nature of business, organizations are spending an increasing amount of money on end-user training. Training methods are also changing with little research to support new approaches. Thus, ex...

End-User Training (EUT) has enjoyed a rich tradition of research in Information Systems. However, with the growing pace of change in technology and the dynamic nature of business, organizations are spending an increasing amount of money on end-user training. Training methods are also changing with little research to support new approaches. Thus, ex...

The increasing investment in technology for training and learning in organizations underscores the fundamental importance for researchers to understand and investigate technology-mediated learning (TML). Currently, a great deal of Information Systems (IS) training for both IS professionals and end-users has a TML component. With the continuing grow...

Active management of team adaptation of collaboration technologies offers an important lever for influencing success rates in distributed project work, particularly in settings characterized by high task interdependence, such as information systems development (ISD). Substantial uncertainty exists as to how a leader might influence such technology...

This study explores how team leaders sense the need for technology adaptation intervention in distributed, computer-mediated ("virtual") teams. Analysis and coding of critical incident data collected in interviews of practicing leaders produce a five-trigger model including (1) external constraint, (2) internal constraint, (3) information and commu...

Increasing organizational investment in technology for training and learning underscores how important it is for researchers to understand and investigate technology-mediated learning (TML). However, the limited empirical data in this area fails to provide a consistent and comprehensive picture of the TML phenomena. A critical aspect missing from e...

Information systems (IS) research often attempts to examine and explain how technology leads to outcomes through usage of IS. Although extensive research in this area has resulted in a significant number of theories, limited work has been done on integrating these theories. This paper presents adaptive structuration theory (AST) as a meta-theory fo...

The growth in the application of information technology to learning/training underscores the need to understand the impact of these technologies. This paper reports the results of a multi-period quasi-experiment focusing on two e-learning methods: contemporary web-based and video-based training methods. Drawing on the two foundational disciplines o...

Effective training is a key factor in determining the success of end-user computing (EUC) in organizations. Software training research often focuses on one outcome of training – understanding. The experimental study reported here examines understanding, motivation, and use as outcomes of software training. Two methods of training, applications-base...

Abstract The most important goal of computer software training and interface design has been to help users learn and use software effectively. While research has provided useful information about how to achieve this outcome, it appears to have overlooked the contribution that ‘fun’ and ‘motivation’ can add to learning. This study develops and tests...

This article reports findings of a study of how leaders of virtual information systems development teams improve team trust and cooperation by managing adaptation of information and communications tools. Results indicate how Theory X (command and control) and Theory Y (facilitate and support) styles of leadership enable and hinder effective outcome...

As organisations struggle with how to develop and use individual expertise, the importance of Collaborative Learning (CL) has grown in both academic and practitioner communities. Although organisations have a large amount of individual expertise, their ability to aggregate and share it has largely eluded them. A review of educational literature poi...

This article reports findings of an empirical, field study of how virtual information systems development teams project managers improve team trust and cooperation by managing adaptation of information and communications tools. We examine the effect of leader style on the efficacy of interaction interventions. Results indicate how theory X (command...

Information systems (IS) research often attempts to examine and explain how technology leads to outcomes through usage of information technology (IT). Although extensive research in this area has resulted in a significant number of theories, limited work has been done on integrating these theories. This paper presents adaptive structuration theory...

Many project and team members in other leadership positions use information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve their teams collaboration and accomplish large, global, and distributed information systems projects. ICTs, such as emails, fax, or integrated development environments and group decision support tools, can enhance teamwork per...

We studied 52 field examples interaction breakdown in information technology project virtual teams and actions leaders took to fix it using information and communication technologies (ICTs). We found that leader success related to aspects of shared mental model (SMM) theory, particularly the equipment/technology (e/t) model. Our literature review s...

Many managers complain about the quality of group meetings. Information technology, in the form of a group support system (GSS), has the potential to improve meeting quality. This article offers an integrated model for explaining why a particular GSS improves meetings. The explanatory model is based on the meeting cycle model; organizational develo...

As organizations struggle with how to develop and use their inherent expertise, the importance of knowledge management and collaboration has grown in both academic and practitioner communities. This paper outlines a new concept of collaborative knowledge management (CKM), which bridges the two fields. Drawing from literature, we present a conceptua...

End-User Training (EUT) has enjoyed a rich tradition of research in Information Systems. However, with the growing pace of change in technology and the dynamic nature of business, organizations are spending an increasing amount of money on end-user training. Training methods are also changing with little research to support new approaches. Thus, ex...

Much of the research in the area of Knowledge Management (KM) has been at the individual level. However, KM literature argues for knowledge processing capacity at an organisational level to enhance organisational performance. This paper argues that there are additional levels of knowledge processing that need to be studied such as teams and communi...

The growth in the application of information technology to end-user training (EUT) underscores a fundamental need to understand how these e-learning technologies improve the learning process. Results from the limited EUT studies provide an inconsistent picture of the effects of e-learning technologies. Also, collaborative learning has become one of...

Two important classes of information systems, Workflow Management Systems (WfMSs) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, have been used to support e-business process redesign, integration, and management. While both technologies can help with business process automation, data transfer, and information sharing, the technological approach an...

In today's fast changing environment marked by innovation in information technology (IT) at great speed, organizations need to take a holistic view of IT training by formulating comprehensive learning strategies. In this paper, we propose an integrative learning strategy formulation model that we developed based on the findings of a study that used...

This case study presents the lessons learned from the implementation and use of collaboration technology in the ongoing University of Georgia (UGA) Terry College of Business MBA programme created for the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) North American Consulting Group. Reference to PwC or PwC Consulting will denote this specific group, not the entire P...

The importance of knowledge management ( K M ) has been developed in both academic and practitioner literatures. Organizations are currently searching for best practices and technologies for implementing KM. Thispaper looks a t a new technology, Peer-to-Peer ( P 2 P ) computing, and explores how itfits in the knowledge management paradigm. The pape...

Two important classes of information systems, Workflow Management Systems(WfMSs) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, have been used to support ebusiness process redesign, integration, and management. While both technologies can help with business process automation, data transfer, and information sharing, the technological approach and...

This article presents the findings associated with managerial beliefs from a recent exploratory qualitative study that was designed to examine the multiple ways in which managers perceive themselves to facilitate the learning of their employees in learning oriented organizations. The Critical Incident Technique was adapted for use in this study to...

We postulate that the argument about whether research in the field of Information Systems has relevance for practice is moot. We believe that there is constant learning and informing between academia and practice. This paper uses Kolb’s learning cycle theory (KLCT) to demonstrate our conjecture. It presents a critique of the KLCT and an interpretat...

Training in information technology (IT) tools has traditionally been defined in terms of skills. Consequently, training methods and approaches have focused almost exclusively on ensuring that a trainee acquire the skills required to use an IT tool, and in a specific domain. With the advent and increasing use of enterprise-wide IT architectures, suc...

Training in information technology (IT) tools has traditionally been defined in terms of skills. Consequently, training methods and approaches have focused almost exclusively on ensuring that a trainee acquire the skills required to use an IT tool, and in a specific domain. With the advent and increasing use of enterprise-wide IT architectures, suc...

Training in information technology (IT) tools has traditionally been defined in terms of skills. Consequently, training methods and approaches have focused almost exclusively on ensuring that a trainee acquires the skills required to use an IT tool, and in a specific domain. With the advent and increasing use of enterprise-wide IT architectures, su...

Limited published research has examined the role of leaders and managers in building learning capability and learning organizations. It is speculated that leaders and managers will assume roles such as facilitators of learning, coaches, and teachers. However, these roles and the micro-behaviors manifested in them remain an area that has not been fu...

This paper uses the Socio-Technical Systems (STS) model as a conceptual framework to explore client/server information system implementations, and demonstrates the logical disconnect between traditionally developed mainframe systems and the flexibility required to meet rapidly changing environments. Such flexibility can be afforded by client/server...

This article examines the impacts of two types of meetingfacilitation across traditional and GSS environments -process and content facilitation - on meeting processes andoutcomes.Results indicate uniformly positive consequences ofcontent facilitation. In the context of this study, processsupport was found to negatively affect meeting structures.To...

Recent IS literature points to a growing interest in the subject of creativity. After some isolated attempts in the 1980's by researchers, systematic efforts by Couger (1996) and others have yielded much useful creativity research in the 1990s pertinent to the field of information systems. Much less work relevant to creativity has been done in the...

This paper addresses the socioemotional dimension in group support systems (GSS) meeting environments from the perspective of the facilitator. A model is presented and discussed. This model represents how facilitators perceive and manage socioemotional issues in a GSS environment. The role of GSS in the model is also explored. The research methodol...

This is the first of two parts that examine the issue of group development and its impact on the study design of group support systems (GSS). We review the various models of group development, analyze the sources of differences among these models, and synthesize common themes across various models. The paper concludes with a meta-framework for unde...

The article examines the impact of two types of meeting facilitation across traditional and group support system (GSS) environments: process and content facilitation, on meeting processes and outcomes. Results indicate uniformly positive consequences of content facilitation. In the context of this study, process support was found to negatively affe...

This paper addresses the socio-emotional dimension that exists in group support systems (GSS) meeting environments from the perspective of the facilitator. A model is presented and discussed that represents how facilitator's perceive and manage socio-emotional issues in a GSS environment. The role of GSS in the model is also explored. The research...

The role of diversity among individuals and groups in explaining differences in the results of group support system (GSS) use is recognized in the literature as important but has not been adequately investigated. Moreover, knowledge of such effects may be of limited use if a meaningful way of using this information is not available. This article lo...

This article is the second of a two-part series that examines the issue ofgroup development and its impact on the study and design of group supportsystems. It builds on the ideas developed in the preceding article anddiscusses the implications of group development for group support systems(GSS) research. Specifically, the paper examines the impact...

Shifting the emphasis from working alone to working together in the classroom or on the job is a relatively simple idea. However, implementing collaborative work and learning has not been so easy!This paper argues that critical meeting facilitation skills and the appropriate use of Group Support Systems' (GSS) tools support the collaborative meetin...

Group Support Systems (GSS) and their effects on group processes and outcomes have been an object of intense study for 10 years. This article takes a different perspective on the involvement of GSS in research. The authors address how GSS tools canfacilitate the process of developing and implementing research. A generic model of the research proces...

The ability to skillfully facilitate meeting interactions is one of the most important competencies for managing organizations and work. Yet research and experiences indicate that most meetings are seen as unproductive and that few of us have ever been trained sufficiently to conduct them! Two possible pathways to improve the deplorable state of me...

The ability to skillfully facilitate meeting interactions is one of the most important competencies for managing organizations and work. Yet research and experiences indicate that most meetings are seen as unproductive and that few of us have ever been trained sufficiently to conduct them! Two possible pathways to improve the deplorable state of me...

All organizations face the problem of how to divide up work or how to design the organization. In this context, business process reengineering has recently received a great deal of attention. This paper described a series of meetings of a student housing department using multiple group support systems and manual methods to support the reengineering...

Given the increased demand for group work, it has been argued that strong facilitation skills are critical for successful business interactions, yet many of us view meetings as time-consuming and unproductive exchanges, and few of us have had any formal training in designing and facilitating meetings. This paper presents the results of a study on t...

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Bye Wynne, who never held back from life, charging those he touched with his vigor, heart, and mind. Thanks. This article reports on an experiment investigating the effects of a human facilitator and a computerized Group Support System (GSS) on group meeting outcomes. These treatments were applied in the sam...

Radical and discontinuous change is the order of the day in the 1990s. Organizations are seeking to improve their fit with a constantly changing environment through initiatives such as business process redesign (BPR) and total quality management (TQM). Getting people to think creatively is critical to the success of these change efforts. Group Supp...

An abstract is not available.

To date, little research has been directed at the management infrastructure for end-user computing (EUC) from an organization design perspective. This study reports on the testing of a previously published contingency model in which two different structural forms are modeled for four states of EUC implementation: (1) an organic design (characterize...

Six experts in corporate real-estate disposition contributed their knowledge during five meetings supported by a group support system (GSS). The experts who contributed their knowledge, other experts in disposition, real-estate managers with some disposition experience, and novices evaluated the final version of the resulting expert system prototyp...

Group support systems (GSS) have an important role to play in the creativity revolution occurring in organizations. Creativity has been studied in terms of: the characteristics of the creative individual; specific creativity processes used; the nature of the products of creative processes: and the attributes of environments that inhibit or are cond...

This article proposes a model for examining the impacts of group support systems (GSS) on conflict and conflict management, based on literature on GSS, group conflict, and structuration theory. It reports on a study of the impacts of GSS use on group conflict and conflict management. A total of 25 groups participated in the study. After an initial...

Organizations are using Group Support Systems (GSSs) to improve the quality of group meetings. Keypad‐based GSSs are a widely used form of this technology, yet there has been little research on their use and effects. This paper reports the findings of a survey of facilitators of a particular keypad GSS. Facilitators indicate that keypad technology...

The ability tofacilitate diverse human and technological interactions will be one of the most essential skillsfor leading and contributing to all levels of the organization in thefuture. Yet none of the research to date has definedfacilitation or the role of the facilitator in depth or has provided empirically grounded guidelines for effectively pe...

A novice user's cognitive abilities can influence how difficult he/she finds learning to use a software package. To ensure effective use, it is important to identify specific abilities that can influence learning and use, and then develop training methods or design interfaces to accommodate individuals who are lower in those abilities. This paper r...

End-user computing has become an area of major importance to organizations over the past several years. As non-professional computer users come to rely on computer systems to perform more and more of their basic tasks, MIS managers need to ensure that those individuals learn to use software packages effectively. Two common, and often complementary,...

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) remains a top concern of many organizations. Accordingly, researchers have investigated SISP practice and proposed both formal methods and principles of good practice. SISP cannot be understood by considering ...

The authors report on a study of the impact of group support systems (GSS) use on groups over the duration of five sessions spaced a week apart. The issue of primary interest in the study was the impact of GSS use on the nature of group conflict and conflict management. Twenty-five groups participated in the study. The first session was a training...

The authors describe how group support systems (GSS) can be used to promote creativity in information systems (IS) organizations. A discussion of GSS concepts and tools is presented first. A model of the creative problem solving process in organizations is described. An in-depth discussion of the benefits of using GSS to promote creativity as well...

Adaptive structuration theory (AST) provides a sound basis from which to study the use of group support systems (GSS). The need for a theoretical approach such as AST is especially urgent because it helps explain the process of GSS use, thereby providing insights into the reasons for inconsistent research results. This paper illustrates the develop...

Many studies in the group decision support system (GDSS) literature have reported on the behavior and performance of ad hoc groups meeting for the first, and, in fact, the only time. Such one‐time studies of groups may not represent their longer term behavior and performance accurately. Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) conceives of technology us...

The introduction of group support systems (GSS) into organizations has created a new role -- the GSS facilitator. None of the research to date has defined the role of the facilitator in depth or has provided empirically grounded guidelines for effectively performing this role. This paper presents the results of a rigorous assessment of the role of...

This article describes materials and methods for a course in systems analysis and design. While the article is prescriptive rather than empirical, it offers new directions for instructors who wish to adopt an action research approach to syllabus development. Information systems developers perform two roles in the process of managing a development p...

The widespread use of computers in organizations places increasing demands on computer trainers and designers to insure that users acquire skills in the most effective ways possible. One generally accepted way to achieve this goal has been to provide users with systems that are user friendly, that tend to reduce learning time, and are fairly compre...

Group support systems (GSS) and their effects on group processes and outcomes have been an object of intense study over the past ten years (1982-92). The purpose of the authors is to take a different perspective with respect to GSS research. Rather than discussing research about GSS, they discuss the capabilities of GSS tools to support the process...

Adaptive structuration theory (AST) provides a sound basis from which to study the use of group support systems (GSS). The need for a theoretical approach such as AST is especially urgent because it helps explain the process of GSS use, thereby providing insights into the reasons for inconsistent research results. The paper illustrates the developm...

This paper reports on a study aimed at integrating an important but neglected behavioral issue-group development-into group decision support systems (GDSS) research. Group development is based on the fact that most groups have a past and a future, and this affects group outcomes. However, most GDSS studies have investigated only a single group sess...

An abstract is not available.

The importance of effective training in ensuring the success of end-user computing (EUC) has been emphasized by several researchers in information systems. A vast amount of evidence from research in related areas such as educational psychology suggests that individual differences, such as learning style, may affect users learning about a new EUC so...

The Executive 2000 project at the Georgia End User Computing Center explores how recent advances in information technology can be used to help executives carry out their job responsibilities. After presenting an overview of Executive 2000, the authors discuss three main research areas in the project: executive information systems, collaborative wor...

The authors report on a field study that involved experienced data and system planners from one company in a collaborative task of brainstorming, idea generation categorizing, and ranking data and systems planning issues and root causes. The PLEXSYS electronic meeting support environment was used to facilitate this session and to collect and analyz...

The authors report on a study aimed at integrating group development into group decision support systems (GDSS) research. Emphasis is placed on the following two questions: (1) Does computer support affect the development of decision making groups and (2) Do the patterns of development differ over time between computer-supported and manual groups?...

The purpose of this article is to report the design and results of a study that was conducted to test if the use of a semantic model instead of a relational model results in superior end-user performance. The semantic model used was the extended entity-relationship model. A pilot study was conducted in November 1987. The main purpose of this study...

Using the constructs of strategy, structure, and performance from organizational theory, the authors provide a framework for critically reviewing the previous research on end-user computing (EUC) management from a total organization perspective. While the growth of EUC and the need for its effective management have been well documented, our knowled...

Although there is a strong theoretical basis for concluding that conceptual models are effective in aiding users build mental models of computer systems, very little empirical evidence exists to support such a conclusion. Frequently, the effect has been weak. Subjects trained with a conceptual model often perform better than control group subjects...

Inadequate system requirements specifications reflect ineffective communication transactions between system users and developers. Today, effective communication between developers and users is more important than ever as organizations redirect resources to the development of decision/expert and communication support systems and to helping users dev...

The research reported is based on a study that compared two seminar/classroom software end-user-computing (EUC) training methods in terms of understanding outcomes. Understanding of the target software, IFPS, was measured in terms of architecture, function, and syntax. Results showed that for function understanding, construct-based training was sup...

A contingency model of end-user computing (EUC) management effectiveness which applies a theoretical framework from innovation management research to relevant prior management information system (MIS) research is presented. Exploratory field interviews and the resulting revisions of the model are discussed. Preliminary validation of the model for u...

An abstract is not available.

Research in end-user software training has not addressed the issue of designing methods to influence use of software. The research reported here is based on a field experiment that compared two software training methods for Lotus 1-2-3. Applications-based training was designed to be more personally relevant than construct-based training with the ex...