IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jobhdp/v133y2016icp17-32.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Secret conversation opportunities facilitate minority influence in virtual groups: The influence on majority power, information processing, and decision quality

Author

Listed:
  • Swaab, Roderick I.
  • Phillips, Katherine W.
  • Schaerer, Michael

Abstract

We examined the impact of secret conversation opportunities during virtual team discussions on majority opinion holders’ motivation to attend to minority opinion holders. Studies 1a and b showed that majorities were more motivated to process others’ arguments when secret conversation opportunities were available (vs. not), provided these arguments contained unique (vs. shared) information and this information was offered by the minority (vs. majority). Study 2 demonstrated that this effect occurs because secret opportunities made majorities feel less powerful after being exposed to unique information from the minority (Study 2a), especially when majority members expected others to use these channels (Study 2b). Study 3 used an interactive group decision-making task and demonstrated that the increased majority motivation triggered by secret opportunities increased group decision quality. Study 3 also examined whether secret opportunities influence the minority and whether the effect is robust across different communication settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Swaab, Roderick I. & Phillips, Katherine W. & Schaerer, Michael, 2016. "Secret conversation opportunities facilitate minority influence in virtual groups: The influence on majority power, information processing, and decision quality," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 17-32.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:133:y:2016:i:c:p:17-32
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.07.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597815000783
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.07.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giambatista, Robert C. & Bhappu, Anita D., 2010. "Diversity's harvest: Interactions of diversity sources and communication technology on creative group performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 111(2), pages 116-126, March.
    2. Lee Sproull & Sara Kiesler, 1986. "Reducing Social Context Cues: Electronic Mail in Organizational Communication," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(11), pages 1492-1512, November.
    3. Bhappu, Anita D. & Griffith, Terri L. & Northcraft, Gregory B., 1997. "Media Effects and Communication Bias in Diverse Groups," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 199-205, June.
    4. Kane, Aimee A. & Argote, Linda & Levine, John M., 2005. "Knowledge transfer between groups via personnel rotation: Effects of social identity and knowledge quality," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 56-71, January.
    5. Loewenstein, Jeffrey & Morris, Michael W. & Chakravarti, Agnish & Thompson, Leigh & Kopelman, Shirli, 2005. "At a loss for words: Dominating the conversation and the outcome in negotiation as a function of intricate arguments and communication media," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 28-38, September.
    6. van Knippenberg, D.L. & Haslam, S.A. & Platow, M.J., 2007. "Unity through Diversity: Value-in-Diversity Beliefs, Work Group Diversity, and Group Identification," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2007-068-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    7. Goncalo, Jack A. & Staw, Barry M., 2006. "Individualism-collectivism and group creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 96-109, May.
    8. Ng, K. Yee & Van Dyne, Linn, 2001. "Individualism-Collectivism as a Boundary Condition for Effectiveness of Minority Influence in Decision Making," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 198-225, March.
    9. Phillips, Katherine W. & Loyd, Denise Lewin, 2006. "When surface and deep-level diversity collide: The effects on dissenting group members," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 143-160, March.
    10. Marwan Sinaceur & Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt & Margaret A. Neale & Olivia A. O'Neill & Christophe Haag, 2010. "Accuracy and perceived expert status in group decisions : When minority members make majority members more accurate privately," Post-Print hal-02312443, HAL.
    11. Mesmer-Magnus, Jessica R. & DeChurch, Leslie A. & Jimenez-Rodriguez, Miliani & Wildman, Jessica & Shuffler, Marissa, 2011. "A meta-analytic investigation of virtuality and information sharing in teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 214-225, July.
    12. Ann-Frances Cameron & Jane Webster, 2011. "Relational Outcomes of Multicommunicating: Integrating Incivility and Social Exchange Perspectives," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 754-771, June.
    13. Aimée A. Kane, 2010. "Unlocking Knowledge Transfer Potential: Knowledge Demonstrability and Superordinate Social Identity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(3), pages 643-660, June.
    14. Siegel, Jane & Dubrovsky, Vitaly & Kiesler, Sara & McGuire, Timothy W., 1986. "Group processes in computer-mediated communication," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 157-187, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Schaerer, Michael & Loschelder, David D. & Swaab, Roderick I., 2016. "Bargaining zone distortion in negotiations: The elusive power of multiple alternatives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 156-171.
    2. Bolger, Fergus & Rowe, Gene & Belton, Ian & Crawford, Megan M & Hamlin, Iain & Sissons, Aileen & Taylor Browne Lūka, Courtney & Vasilichi, Alexandrina & Wright, George, 2020. "The Simulated Group Response Paradigm: A new approach to the study of opinion change in Delphi and other structured-group techniques," OSF Preprints 4ufzg, Center for Open Science.
    3. Fernandes, Catarina R. & Yu, Siyu & Howell, Taeya M. & Wood Brooks, Alison & Kilduff, Gavin J. & Pettit, Nathan C., 2021. "What is your status portfolio? Higher status variance across groups increases interpersonal helping but decreases intrapersonal well-being," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 56-75.
    4. Marlow, Shannon L. & Lacerenza, Christina N. & Paoletti, Jensine & Burke, C. Shawn & Salas, Eduardo, 2018. "Does team communication represent a one-size-fits-all approach?: A meta-analysis of team communication and performance," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 145-170.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lionel P. Robert Jr & Alan R. Dennis & Manju K. Ahuja, 2018. "Differences are Different: Examining the Effects of Communication Media on the Impacts of Racial and Gender Diversity in Decision-Making Teams," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 525-545, September.
    2. Jehn, Karen A. & Bezrukova, Katerina, 2010. "The faultline activation process and the effects of activated faultlines on coalition formation, conflict, and group outcomes," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 24-42, May.
    3. Miron-Spektor, Ella & Emich, Kyle J. & Argote, Linda & Smith, Wendy K., 2022. "Conceiving opposites together: Cultivating paradoxical frames and epistemic motivation fosters team creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    4. Choon-Ling Sia & Bernard C. Y. Tan & Kwok-Kee Wei, 2002. "Group Polarization and Computer-Mediated Communication: Effects of Communication Cues, Social Presence, and Anonymity," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 13(1), pages 70-90, March.
    5. Denise Lewin Loyd & Cynthia S. Wang & Katherine W. Phillips & Robert B. Lount, 2013. "Social Category Diversity Promotes Premeeting Elaboration: The Role of Relationship Focus," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 757-772, June.
    6. Alison J. Bianchi & Soong Moon Kang & Daniel Stewart, 2012. "The Organizational Selection of Status Characteristics: Status Evaluations in an Open Source Community," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 341-354, April.
    7. Catherine Durnell Cramton, 2001. "The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 346-371, June.
    8. Antoci, Angelo & Bonelli, Laura & Paglieri, Fabio & Reggiani, Tommaso & Sabatini, Fabio, 2019. "Civility and trust in social media," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 83-99.
    9. Ray Reagans, 2011. "Close Encounters: Analyzing How Social Similarity and Propinquity Contribute to Strong Network Connections," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 835-849, August.
    10. Sunkee Lee, 2019. "Learning-by-Moving: Can Reconfiguring Spatial Proximity Between Organizational Members Promote Individual-level Exploration?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 467-488, May.
    11. Fabio Sabatini & Francesco Sarracino, 2017. "Online Networks and Subjective Well-Being," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 456-480, August.
    12. Nemeth, Charlan Jeanne, 2010. "Minority Influence Theory," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt1pz676t7, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    13. Elina H. Hwang & Param Vir Singh & Linda Argote, 2015. "Knowledge Sharing in Online Communities: Learning to Cross Geographic and Hierarchical Boundaries," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 1593-1611, December.
    14. Michele Griessmair & Sabine T. Koeszegi, 2009. "Exploring the Cognitive-Emotional Fugue in Electronic Negotiations," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 213-234, May.
    15. Aimée A. Kane & Natalia Levina, 2017. "‘Am I Still One of Them?’: Bicultural Immigrant Managers Navigating Social Identity Threats When Spanning Global Boundaries," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 540-577, June.
    16. Wilson, Jeanne M. & Straus, Susan G. & McEvily, Bill, 2006. "All in due time: The development of trust in computer-mediated and face-to-face teams," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 16-33, January.
    17. Bhappu, Anita D. & Griffith, Terri L. & Northcraft, Gregory B., 1997. "Media Effects and Communication Bias in Diverse Groups," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 199-205, June.
    18. Angelo Antoci & Alexia Delfino & Fabio Paglieri & Fabrizio Panebianco & Fabio Sabatini, 2016. "Civility vs. Incivility in Online Social Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.
    19. Liao, Jenny & O'Brien, Anne T. & Jimmieson, Nerina L. & Restubog, Simon Lloyd D., 2015. "Predicting transactive memory system in multidisciplinary teams: The interplay between team and professional identities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 965-977.
    20. Sutton, Robert I. & Neale, Margaret A. & Owens, David, 2000. "Technologies of Status Negotiation: Status Dynamics in Email Discussion Groups," Research Papers 1612, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:133:y:2016:i:c:p:17-32. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/obhdp .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.