Reference paper:
Tangirala, S., & Alge, B. J. (2006). Reactions to unfair events in computer-mediated groups: A test of uncertainty management theory. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 100(1), 1–20.Abstract:
(A 50-word quick summary from my understanding)
Due to information uncertainty, fairness from authorities is more salient to members of computer-mediated groups, and these groups tend to react more negatively to unfair events than do face-to-face groups. The difference in reactions between these groups increases over time.Quick Notes/queries:
Related to paper- How does fairness perceptions relate to most practical scenarios of communication context which are a mix of computer-mediated and face-to-face?
- Would a computer-mediated multimedia communication (ex: Skype video chat) where visual anonymity would not be present influence the outcomes differently as compared to pure text-based communication?
- In the experimental design, what would have been the impact of any discussions that happened outside the scheduled sessions?
- Would the outcomes have been different if the experimental design was restricted to either distributive or procedural unfairness?
- Would the outcomes have been different if the experiment was designed closer to reality where the individuals in the group were physically geographically dispersed, and could only interact through computer-mediated communication?Also, how different would it be if the participants were not aware that this was a research study?
- Would the participants' cognizance that they were participating in a research study, although on a "real-life" task, impact the outcomes?For ex - an individual realizing that the fairness events were not "real" and were "experimental", could possibly underplay his/her reaction towards these events. Also, the individual might guess the hypothesis and attempt to play either ways. Would the likelihood of this be higher in a face-to-face group where the interactions are more rich?
- Over longer periods of time (beyond T2 in this study) would the difference in fairness perceptions between F2F and computer-mediated communication reduce?
Others
- How does computer-mediated communication influence voice and silence behavior?
- How does availability of social information ('perceptions of information richness' and 'familiarity with group members') impact voice behaviors?
- Are there any studies on "socially meaningful experiences" in common spaces, and their consequences on various individual, group and organizational level outcomes?
- Is it ethically required for the researchers to let the participants know that they are part of a research study?
For further readings
- Procedural justice rules (Leventhall, 1980);
- Controlled lab studies vs correlation studies (Van den Bos, 2001);
- Uncertainty management theory (Lind & Van den Bos, 2002);
- Fairness heuristic theory (Jones & Skarlicki, 2005);
- Perceptions of information richness (Carlson and Zmud, 1999);
- Lubricants of virtuality (Handy, 1995);
- Evaluation extremity;