Abstract
This paper describes the use of a Group Support System (GSS) in a distributed meeting with hundreds of managers. All were managing directors of the local banks of Rabobank. The distributed meeting has contributed to reducing the lead-time of a decision of hundreds of managers from an estimated 6 months to 4 weeks while at the same time increasing the involvement of the managers. The paper discusses the processes followed, the results achieved, the feedback from the managers as collected in a survey and the lessons learned. The experience shows that large-scale virtual meetings with business managers are feasible today. The participants recognize the usefulness of the virtual meeting but also indicate the need to improve the processes followed and the IT used.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Genuchten, M., C. Van Dijk, H. Scholten, and D. Vogel. (2001). “Industrial Experience in Using Groupware for Software Inspections,” IEEE Software 18 (3), May/June, 2001, 60–65.
Jarvenpaa, S. and D. Leidner. (1999). “Communications and Trust in Global Virtual Teams,” Organization Science 791–815.
Maznevski, M. L. and K. M. Chudoba. (2000). “Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness,” Organization Science, 473–492.
Nunamaker, J., A. Dennis, J. Valacich, D. Vogel, and J. George. (1991). “Electronic Meeting Systems to Support Group Work,” Communications of the ACM 34 (7), July, 40–61.
Nunamaker, J., R. Briggs, D. Mittleman, D. Vogel, and P. Balthazard. (1997). “Lessons from a Dozen Years of Group Support Systems Research: A Discussion of Lab and Field Findings,” Journal of MIS 13 (3), Winter, 163–207.
Rooij de, Jasper. (2002). “Distributed Meetings; A Research Model (In Dutch). Masters Thesis Report, Technical University Eindhoven.
Rutkowski, A., D. Vogel, M. Genuchten, T. Bemelmans, and M. Favier. (2002). “E-Collaboration: The Reality of Virtuality,” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 45 (4), 219–230.
Turoff, M., S. R. Hiltz, A. N. F. Bahgat, A. R. Rana. (1993). “Distributed Group Support Systems,” MIS Quarterly December.
Verveen, S., M. van Genuchten, R. Schuwer, T. Bemelmans, and J. de Waart. (2001). “GroupIntelligence: Automated Support For Capitalizing On GroupKnowledge,” Proceedings of the Thirty-Fourth Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE January.
Vogel, D., J. Nunamaker, B. Martz, R. Grohowski, and C. McGoff. (1990). “Electronic Meeting System Experience at IBM,” Journal of MIS 6 (3), Winter, 25–43.
Vreede, G. J. de. (2000). “A Field Study into the Organizational Application of Group Support Systems,” Journal of Information Technology Cases and Applications 2 (4), 27–47.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arkesteijn, H., de Rooij, J., van Eekhout, M. et al. Virtual Meetings With Hundreds of Managers. Group Decision and Negotiation 13, 211–221 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GRUP.0000031075.60944.49
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:GRUP.0000031075.60944.49