Deceptive Communication in E-Collaboration

Much research within the field of MIS has been devoted to the use of collaborative technology by decision makers and the impact computer-mediated communication (CMC) has on collaborative work. Yet, there may be some unintended consequences for users of CMC, if someone involved in the joint effort decides to take the opportunity to deceive the others involved. In this chapter, we posit that CMC offers would-be deceivers advantages that otherwise do not exist with more traditional, richer media, using past research and established theories to help explain why. We review some of the findings from our ongoing research effort in this area and explain how difficult it is for computer users to detect deception, when it occurs. Finally, we discuss how the art of deception in computer-mediated collaboration potentially can affect both the current effort and future efforts of those involved, and we offer our thoughts on some of the factors CMC practitioners should consider when trying to combat computer-mediated deception.

Internet-Based Customer Collaboration

Co-production, which is the generation of value through the direct involvement of customers in the creation of a service context and in the design, delivery, and marketing of goods and services that they themselves consume, implies customer-firm collaboration. The nature of this collaboration, however, is highly dependent on the organization’s service design, which increasingly includes Internet technology, as well as customer communities. Whereas dyadic co-production implies a single customer’s involvement with a firm, community-based co-production implies multiple customers simultaneously engaged in value-adding activities with a firm. In order to build a theoretical understanding of these modes of customer collaboration and to explore the role and implications of Internet technologies within them, we develop a contingency theory of customer co-production designs. We then use cases of Internet-based services to highlight the benefits and challenges of relying on Internet technology to implement customer co-production.

Research Challenges for Integration of E-Collaboration Technologies

Integrated technology support for collaborative work is a topic of great interest to academics and practitioners alike. E-collaboration has become a vibrant and fruitful area of research and application from many perspectives. Integration remains a major challenge, however, and a significant opportunity exists to advance the state of practice as well as research. We provide an overview of different forms of integrated e-collaboration technologies, along with examples of key application areas. Based on these examples, we analyze the research opportunities and challenges and provide a set of recommendations for advancing our understanding of integrated e-collaboration technologies. The focus throughout is on behavioral and organizational issues related to these technologies and their underlying theoretical perspectives. The overarching goal of the chapter is to identify important needs for research, based on a clear understanding of the key concepts, issues, and existing knowledge.

A Discussion of Key Conceptual Elements of E-Collaboration

This chapter defines e-collaboration, and provides a historical glimpse at how and when e-collaboration emerged. The discussion suggests that the emergence of ecollaboration had more to do with military considerations than with the solution of either organizational or broad societal problems. It is also argued that e-collaboration, as an area of research and industrial development, is broader than what is often referred to as computer-mediated communication. The chapter concludes with a discussion of six key conceptual elements of e-collaboration: (1) the collaborative task, (2) the e-collaboration technology, (3) the individuals involved in the collaborative task, (4) the mental schemas possessed by the individuals, (5) the physical environment surrounding the individuals, and (6) the social environment surrounding the individuals.

A Meta-Analysis of Group Size Effects in Electronic Brainstorming

Electronic brainstorming (EBS) has been a focus of academic research since the 1980s. The results suggest that in most—but not all—cases, groups using EBS produce more ideas than groups using verbal brainstorming. In contrast, the results comparing groups using EBS to groups using nominal group brainstorming have been mixed: sometimes EBS group produce more ideas, while in other cases, nominal groups produce more. This article examines the effects of group size on EBS, verbal brainstorming, and nominal group brainstorming. We found that group size is a significant factor in predicting the performance of EBS relative to verbal brainstorming, and nominal group brainstorming. As group size increases, the relative benefit of EBS increases. EBS groups outperform verbal groups when group size reaches four people. EBS groups outperform nominal groups when group size reaches 10 people.

Innovation Diffusion and E-Collaboration

Organizational arrangements such as telework are often believed to disrupt workers’ social networks. This raises a concern regarding teleworkers’ abilities to adjust to technological changes in organizations. Based on innovation diffusion theory, this chapter considers telework and interdependence as parallel dimensions of social proximity that may be expected to affect the diffusion of innovation in terms of users’ social information processing (i.e., their technology beliefs, communication channels, and information sources). This proposition is investigated in a field-study conducted during the migration of a business unit to a new communications system. Technology users at the business unit were surveyed three times over a 12-week period—right before the conversion to the new system and at two six-week intervals following the conversion. These surveys assessed the impact of telework on respondents’ beliefs toward the communication technology. Findings partially supported our hypotheses regarding the negative effect of remoteness on beliefs about technology. Users were then surveyed to investigate the media and sources they utilized to stay informed about the new technology. As anticipated, telework was related to an increased use of electronic media and of individual and authority information sources. Contrary to our expectations, though, results indicated a positive effect of telework on the use of collective sources and face-to-face media. Therefore, we conclude that teleworkers make a special effort to preserve their social networks.

Action Research and its Use in E-Collaboration Inquiry

This chapter begins with a discussion of action research from a historical perspective. It then puts forth some ideas on how this research approach can be used in investigations of the design or e-collaboration technologies and the impact of those technologies on people. This is followed by a discussion of key epistemological considerations, including that of whether action research can be conducted in a positivist manner. The chapter then summarizes two special issues of journals, on information systems action research, which provide scholarly illustrations of some of the arguments presented here. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of how action research can be used by doctoral students investigating e-collaboration issues.

Are We Genetical Maladapted for E-Collaboration?

Do we have e-collaboration genes, that is, genes that code for biological adaptations that are well aligned with the demands posed by e-collaboration? A look at our ancestral past through an evolutionary psychology lens generally suggests a negative answer to this question. It seems that our biological communication apparatus, which includes several brain modules, is in fact designed to excel in co-located communication involving face-to-face interaction. Our biological apparatus appears to be ill adapted for e-collaboration, especially in situations where text-intensive and asynchronous interaction technologies (e.g., e-mail) are used for communication. Implications for research and practice of these conclusions are discussed, particularly as they refer to the explanatory and predictive power of the conclusions.

Patterns in Electronic Brainstorming

Previous research has shown that some groups using electronic brainstorming generate more unique ideas than groups using nominal group brainstorming, while others do not. This study examined two factors through which group size may affect brainstorming performance: synergy and social loafing. Groups brainstormed using three techniques to manipulate synergy and two group sizes to manipulate social loafing. We found no social loafing effects. There were significant differences in synergy, but not the ones we had theorized. Instead, we found a time effect: nominal brainstorming groups that received no synergy from the ideas of others produced more ideas than electronic groups in the first time period and fewer ideas in the last time period. We conclude that synergy from the ideas of others is only important when groups brainstorm for longer time periods and may have a harder time generating ideas. We also conclude that electronic brainstorming groups, whether in the field or in the research laboratory, should be given at least 30 minutes to work on tasks or else they will be unlikely to develop synergy.

The Role of Structured Conflict and Consensus Approaches inVirtual Team Strategic Decision Making

Do procedures that improve face-to-face decision meetings also improve virtual “meetings?” Might the effectiveness of such procedures improve with practice? This longitudinal experiment investigated the efficiency, effectiveness and group member perceptions of dialectical inquiry (DI) and constructive consensus (CC) approaches to strategic decision making in a virtual (distributed) computer-mediated- communications (CMC) environment. There were no differences between DI and CC groups in terms of decision effectiveness. However, this result has not been unusual in CMC research. DI groups had significantly higher perceived depth of evaluation than CC groups. CC groups reported greater decision acceptance and willingness to work together again than DI groups. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for group support systems research and design in the era of the World Wide Web.