8. General Discussion of Results

The goal of this thesis was to describe how members of small groups communicate in their MIMA group chat. In addressing the small group as a social entity, this thesis sheds light on an overlooked social context for communication. In recent years, this context has gained importance due to technological developments that brought new opportunities for members of small groups to engage with each other and their group as a whole. Until now, there had been no comprehensive, systematic description of the content shared within these communication spaces. Such a description, however, allows insights into those very group processes that also contribute to the communicative construction of small groups. MIMA group chat communication thus unfolds effects beyond the chat’s boundaries. The present study followed the goal of describing and systematizing group chat communication based on theoretically derived dimensions. In light of this goal, in this last chapter, I will summarize the key findings of the empirical investigation, discuss their theoretical and practical implications and limitations, and develop a programmatic outlook for future research.