Information Technology and Social Loafing:A Qualitative Investigation

While IT-supported teams are increasingly popular, most suffer from an anti-social behavior called social loafing (SL). SL is the tendency to withhold one’s effort when working with others. Past research has examined various determinants and mechanisms of SL but the relationships between IT and SL have remained largely unexplored. Our objectives are to identify the key factors that play a role in SL in IT-supported groups and to investigate how IT can influence SL. Drawing from the literature and on the basis of seven case studies, we identified four categories of factors related to personal, group, organizational and task issues. We will conduct additional cases to advance our theory development on the influence of IT on SL. The implications for research are important since this study provides a better understanding of the determinants of SL and the role IT can play in influencing such behaviors in teams and organizations