A facilitator's general model for managing socio-emotional issues in group support systems meeting environments

This paper addresses the socio-emotional dimension that exists in group support systems (GSS) meeting environments from the perspective of the facilitator. A model is presented and discussed that represents how facilitator's perceive and manage socio-emotional issues in a GSS environment. The role of GSS in the model is also explored. The research methodology for gathering and analyzing the data was based on the critical incident technique and semi-structured interviews. The findings presented in this paper represent one facet of a larger research project. In conclusion, the implication of this paper's findings for facilitators and future research issues are posited.