Cross-cultural group process losses in computer mediated communication

A cross-cultural GSS study between the U.S. and Mexico was undertaken to study the presence of process losses during group idea brainstorming and consensus exercises. Six group process losses were analyzed across three study treatments (GSS-Anonymous, GSS-Identified and Manual-Identified) for each national culture. Results suggest that within U.S. groups, differences in sidetracking among treatments were found, with GSS-Identified groups generating the highest levels of sidetracking. Within the Mexican groups, GSS-Anonymous groups perceived the lowest levels of evaluation apprehension and perceived domination. A comparison study between cultures indicated that Mexican GSS groups perceived higher levels of dominance, lower levels of sidetracking, less information overload, less production blocking, and less forgetting than U.S. GSS groups.