Virtual Teams, Organizations and Networks

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    Rethinking Media Synchronicity Theory: Examining the Cooperative Assumption
    (2018-01-03) Windeler, Jaime; Harrison, Andrew
    Much of information systems (IS) literature assumes team members have completely aligned goals. In practice, people interpret goals to suit personal agendas, even when they are collaborating. This motivates our examination of the cooperative assumption in Media Synchronicity Theory (MST)-”a leading IS theory of communication performance. We assess the boundaries of MST by relaxing the assumption of cooperation. Our results support MST for explaining communication and task performance in a cooperative context. However, MST was insufficient to capture how media capabilities influence performance in a non-cooperative context. Our study shows that relaxing the assumption of cooperation changes MST in profound ways-”altering which media capabilities are central to the model and the very processes that underlie communication.
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    Towards a Model of Collaborative Intention: An Empirical Investigation of a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC)
    (2018-01-03) Razmerita, Liana; Kirchner, Kathrin; Hockerts, Kai; Tan, Chee-Wee
    Disentangling factors that affect one’s intention to collaborate is an important endeavor for management education, especially for globally dispersed groups of students. Drawing on a synthesis of four theories, we advance a model of collaboration intentions that embodies both individual and communal level drivers of individuals’ intention to participate in virtual collaboration. The model is validated based on data collected from 2,517 participants in a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC). Results demonstrate that attitudes towards virtual collaboration are predicted by both collaborative outcome expectancy and communal support expectancy. Additionally, we reveal that collaborative outcome expectancy is predicated on individuals’ belief about his/her ability to collaborate whereas communal support expectancy is impacted by the individual’s perception of communal influence.
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    Towards Semi-Virtual Design Thinking - Creativity in Dispersed Multicultural and Multidisciplinary Innovation Project Teams
    (2018-01-03) Redlich, Beke; Dorawa, David; Siemon, Dominik; Lattemann, Christoph
    This paper aims at examining whether the innovation approach Design Thinking (DT), which is usually performed in an analogue setting, can also be performed in a semi-virtual setting. We conducted an experiment comparing a fully analogue to a semi-virtual DT workshop with overall 59 participants from 27 different countries and 11 different disciplines separated into an experimental- and control group. For the evaluation, we composed items from the psychological construct of Shared Mental Models (SMM) and discussed existing Media Theories in order to draw conclusions on the impact of performing DT semi-virtually in regard to using a digital whiteboard. Against our expectations and assumptions from theory, we reveal that a semi-virtual DT workshop can lead to high levels of shared understanding, satisfaction and perceived effectiveness. We argue that the applied digital whiteboard supports a creative semi-virtual collaboration due to its advanced functionalities, which supports the Media Richness Theory.
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    Beyond Being There, for "All of Us": Exploring Webconferencing and Mobile Remote Presence Devices for Accessible Global Governance
    (2018-01-03) Cogburn, Derrick
    United Nations efforts to support multistakeholder global governance continue to lag for persons with disabilities. Given the expense of face-to-face meetings, accessible ICTs could play an important role, enabling remote participation. However, what types of collaboration technologies best meet UN goals and those of remote participants? This study compares use of webconferencing technologies to mobile remote presence devices (MRP) in a UN conference in Mexico addressing Disaster Risk Reduction. It takes an exploratory action research approach working with UNISDR and the Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction (DiDRR) Network #AllofUs to convene four remote hubs (Suva, Dhaka, Geneva, DC), each controlling their own MRP in Cancun and having access to the webconference, along with other remote participants around the world. We ask: Which technologies best support required conference tasks; and what social and technological challenges arise with their use? Under the conditions of this study, both technologies appeared to be complementary.
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    Computer Mediated Communication in Negotiations: The Effect of Intragroup Faultlines on Intergroup Communication and Outcomes
    (2018-01-03) Bahmani, Keivan; Semnani-Azad, Zhaleh; Adair, Wendi L.; Sycara, Katia
    This work examines the effect of faultlines in virtual computer mediated communications of two collocated negotiation teams. We expand upon prior diversity literature by considering the effect of both surface and deep-level faultlines on the intergroup computer mediated communications in virtual negotiations. Faultlines are hypothetical lines that divide teams into multiple subgroups based on diversity attributes. We confirm that the effect of team diversity on intergroup computer mediated communications can be better captured through faultlines. Our results suggest that faultlines mediate the effect of diversity on teams’ computer mediated intergroup communication and that deep-level faultlines significantly lower the frequency and quality of intergroup communication of virtual negotiations.
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    A Typology of Virtual Research Environments
    (2018-01-03) Ahmed, Iftekhar; Poole, Marshall; Trudeau, Ashley
    Virtual Research Environments (VREs) are online spaces that support communication and collaboration among scientists. Hundreds of VREs have been constructed using various configurations of research tools and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to serve many disciplines and interdisciplinary inquiry. This study characterizes a large sample of VREs in terms of the research and ICT resources they incorporate and derives a typology of VREs based on their particular ICT configurations. The four types are correlated with previous VRE typologies and disciplinary domains. Results indicate that there are correspondences, but that types of ICT configurations also exhibit complex relationships with function and discipline.
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    Introduction to the Minitrack on Virtual Teams, Organizations and Networks
    (2018-01-03) Cogburn, Derrick L.; Hine, Mike; Espinosa, Alberto; Santuzzi, Alecia