The authors investigate the impact of the use of an asynchronous and distributed electronic communication tool on 8 business process improvement groups, 4 in New Zealand and 4 in the USA. The study suggests that even though the use of electronic communication media seems to increase the cognitive effort required from group members, it has a positive impact on knowledge sharing among group members and group outcome quality. These results are consistent across countries, and generally support predictions based on the compensatory adaptation model.