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Abstract:
There are several thousand group support systems (GSS) installations worldwide, and, while that number is growing, GSS has not yet achieved critical mass. One reason may be that it can take one to three years for an organization to complete a transition to GSS. Studying GSS transition in the field could yield insights that would allow for faster, lower-risk transitions elsewhere. This article presents a thirty-twomonth qualitative field investigation of an effort to introduce GSS into the daily work of the staffofthe U.S. Navy’s Commander, Third Fleet. Using the principles of action research, the project began with interventions based on the precepts ofthe Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The goal of the interventions was to engender sufficient acceptance for GSS to create a self-sustaining, growing community of GSS users.
Throughout the study, building on a base of experience developed in other privateand public-sector transition projects, we revised and extended TAM based on insights that emerged in the field. The resulting model, the Technology Transition Model (TIM), frames acceptance as a multiplicative function ofthe magnitude and frequency of the perceived net value ofa proposed change, moderated by the perceived net value associated with the transition period itself. TIM frames net value as having a number of dimensions, including cognitive, economic, political, social, affective, and physical. It posits that cognitive net value derives from at least three sources: changes in access, technical, and conceptual attention loads.
GSS transition proceeded at different speeds in different segments of the Third Fleet; the intelligence and battle staffs became self-sustaining within weeks, while others are still not self-sustaining. TIM appears to explain the differences that emerged in the Navy community.
The article presents TAM, then argues the propositions of TIM. It then presents background information about Third Fleet, and describes critical incidents in the transition effort that gave rise to the model. It summarizes the lessons learned in the field by comparing the differing transition trajectories among Fleet staff segments in light of the model.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Robert O. Briggs
Robert O. Briggs. For biographical information, please see the Guest Editors’ Introduction.
Mark Adkins
Mark Adkins is an Associate Director of the Center for the Management of Information at the University of Arizona. His areas of interest include small group interaction, group decision making, group support systems, group writing, organizational communication, and the impact of information technologies on human interactions. For over twelve years he has been teaching and conducting research in the fields of communication and information technology. He has taught courses in small-group decision making, organizational communication, communication skills, public speaking, and group facilitation. Dr. Adkins is working on a strategic planning project with the U.S. Air Force where the goal is improve the planning process by developing and employing collaborative technology. He is working with the U.S. Navy Commander Third Fleet on a research project that integrates collaborative technology and Naval processes in joint operations that combine Navy, Army, Marine, and Air Force units. The research is taking place on the U.S.S. CORONADO when the ship is under way. He has contributed a chapter to Group Communication in Context: Studies of Natural Groups, and published in Management Communication Quarterly, Information Systems Review, Communication Research Reports, Communication Education, and numerous conference proceedings.
Daniel Mittleman
Daniel Mittleman is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems at DePaul University where he teaches coursework in systems analysis and design, decision support systems, and groupware. He holds an A.B. and M.B.A. from Washington University (St. Louis) and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Dr. Mittleman’s research focuses on group support systems (GSS) and collaboration technologies. His projects include this investigation of collaboration aboard U.S. Navy ships, development of GSS processes to support architectural planning, collaborative writing, and group ideation, as well as the design of technology-supported collaboration facilities. He has published over a dozen papers in these areas and is an Associate Editor of Group Facilitation: A Research and Applications Journal. Dr. Mittleman is also a facilitator who has guided more than six hundred strategic planning, documentation, and requirements elicitation meetings over the past nine years for industry, government, and educational organizations.
John Kruse
John Kruse is a doctoral student at the University of Arizona. His research interests include collaborative computing and decision support. He is currently conducting research in support of the Center for the Management of Information’s work onboard the U.S.S. CORONADO. In addition, Mr. Kruse is the commander of Battery A, 1-18Oth Field Artillery Battalion, Arizona Army National Guard.
Scot Miller
Scot Miller is a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he earned a B.S. in operations analysis. After graduation, he earned his wings as a Naval Aviator, serving in a variety offlyingjobs through 1991. Subsequently, he reoriented his naval career toward decision support research and implementation, first in the application of modeling and simulation to operational course of action assessment, and then with distributive collaborative planning tools. He holds two postgraduate degrees, and currently serves as the Coordinator for the Sea Based Battle Laboratory for the Commander, Third Fleet.
Jay F. Nunamaker
Jay F. Nunamaker, Jr. For biographical information, please see the Guest Editors’ Introduction.