Title: A study of factors affecting electronic meeting participation

Authors: Mina Park, Milam Aiken, Kaushik Ghosh

Addresses: School of Business, Northern State University, 1200 S. Jay Street, Aberdeen, SD 57401, USA. ' School of Business Administration, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA. ' College of Business, Bloomsburg University, 400 E. Second Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA

Abstract: Why do some group members participate in meetings while others do not? This article investigates several influences upon electronic meeting participation including peer pressure, the desire to persuade others, past history with electronic chat rooms, etc. A study using three groups of students (sizes 10, 26 and 34) using electronic gallery writing showed that, surprisingly, there were differences among the groups in the participants| attitude toward the meeting process, preference for reading comments and perceived ability to persuade others during a meeting. Those who liked expressing their thoughts tended to generate more relevant and overall comments. Students who typed comments for entertainment purposes generated more overall comments, but they were generally not relevant to the topic.

Keywords: electronic meetings; e-meetings; participation; motivation; group support systems; group members; group dynamics; peer pressure; persuasion; electronic chat rooms; student behaviour; electronic gallery writing; comments; discussion; entertainment; higher education; universities; United States; USA; business students; systems research; electronic knowledge sharing; collaboration; decision making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2010.032950

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2010 Vol.4 No.3, pp.264 - 277

Published online: 05 May 2010 *

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