9310099 McGrath This research extends and expands work on the impact of experience and change on the use of electronic technology in work groups that is currently funded by the Information Technology and Organizations Program. The research will examine: The extent to which differences between communication media endure when groups accrue considerable experience with relatively new media; Both the disruptive and the empowering effects of sudden shifts in technology on process and performance of work groups; The role of group autonomy, of particular divisions of labor, and of prior stability/variation in major facets of the group, on how well work groups adapt to technological (and other) changes; and the conditions under which various forms of system change or restructuring are likely to result from changes in group technology (or group tasks and membership composition).
