The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using mobile group chat for social interaction on team collaboration. The forming stage of team development is the main scope of the study. Based on the literature suggesting stimulating effects of mobile group chat and social interaction on employees’ positive behavior, we hypothesized that using mobile group chat (Line app) for social interaction would enhance the collaboration of teams during the forming stage. We designed a one-factor experiment with participants randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. We compared the collaboration of the experimental group (using the Line app) with that of the control group (without the Line app). We found that the group using mobile group chat generates higher levels of collaboration than the control group. Implications for the role of mobile group chat in groups are discussed.
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