[AISWorld] JAIS Contents of Volume 13, Issue 10 (October) Special Issue Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds

[Gregor, Shirley]

Contents of Volume 13, Issue 10 (October) Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) Official Publication of the Association for Information Systems
Published: Monthly Electronically
ISSN: 1536-9323
Published by the Association for Information Systems, Atlanta, USA http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/
Editor-in-Chief: Professor Shirley Gregor, The Australian National University, Australia

EDITORIAL ONE
Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Introduction to the Special Issue Investigation By Imed Boughzala, Gert-Jan de Vreede, and Moez Limayem
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/7/

EDITORIAL TWO
Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Editorial to the Special Issue By Imed Boughzala, Gert-Jan de Vreede, and Moez Limayem
Abstract
Virtual worlds are Internet-based three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated environments where users interact through “avatars” – a computer-generated representation of themselves that they control in terms of appearance and behavior. In recent years, virtual worlds have evolved into sophisticated social systems where millions of people regularly collaborate. For dispersed organizational teams, they represent a viable collaboration environment in which users can integrate different communication channels and manipulate digital artifacts that represent actual team deliverables. In this editorial to the Special Issue on Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds, we discuss past research and highlight key findings with respect to five dimensions of collaborative work: technology, people, information, process, and leadership. We conclude with a discussion of the key research challenges that lie ahead to shape the research agenda for team collaboration in virtual worlds and metaverses.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/6/

PAPER ONE
Hype or Help? A Longitudinal Field Study of Virtual World Use for Team Collaboration By Viswanath Venkatesh and Jaime B. Windeler
Abstract
Despite increasing organizational interest and investment in virtual worlds (VWs), there is a lack of research on the benefits of VWs. When and how does the use of VW systems engender better organizational outcomes than traditional collaborative technologies? This paper investigates the value of VWs for team collaboration. Team collaboration is particularly relevant in studying VWs given the rich interactive nature of VWs and an increasing organizational reliance on virtual teamwork. To understand the value of VW use for team collaboration, we examine the relationship between a team’s disposition toward IT, their general disposition (personality) and VW use in influencing team cohesion and performance. We conducted a field study that compares two collaborative technology systems – one that is based on a traditional desktop metaphor and one that is grounded in the principles of a virtual world. We tracked the use of the systems for one year. We analyzed data at the team level and the results generally support our model, with agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and computer self-efficacy interacting with time and technology type to positively influence team technology use. We also found that the use of the virtual world system positively influenced the relationship between technology use and team cohesion, which, in turn, predicts team performance. The model explains 57 percent, 21 percent, and 24 percent of the variance in team technology use, team cohesion, and team performance, respectively.
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http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/5/

PAPER TWO
Valuing Virtual Worlds: The Role of Categorization in Technology Assessment By Luciara Nardon and Kathryn Aten
Abstract
Virtual worlds offer great potential for supporting the collaborative work of geographically distributed teams. However, reports indicate the existence of substantial barriers to the acceptance and use of virtual worlds in business settings. In this paper, we explore how individuals’ interpretations of virtual worlds influence their judgments of the value of the technology. We conducted a qualitative analysis set in the context of a large computer and software company that was in the process of adopting virtual worlds for distributed collaboration. We identified interpretations of virtual worlds that suggest three mental categories: virtual worlds as a medium, virtual worlds as a place, and virtual worlds as an extension of reality. We associated these mental categories with different criteria for assessing the value of virtual worlds in a business setting. This study contributes particularly to the acceptance of virtual worlds but also more generally to the understanding of technology acceptance by demonstrating that the relative importance of the criteria for assessing a technology varies with potential users’ interpretations and mental categorizations.
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http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/4/

PAPER THREE
Cognitive Absorption and Trust for Workplace Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: An Information Processing Decision Making Perspective By Shalini Chandra, Shirish C. Srivastava, and Yin-Leng Theng
Abstract
Virtual worlds (VWs) are media-rich cognitively engaging technologies that geographically dispersed organizations can use as a cost effective workplace collaboration tool. Using an information processing decision making perspective and building on unique characteristics of VWs, this paper proposes a nomological net for adaptive use intention (AUI) of VWs for workplace collaborations. AUI implies intention to use a technology in a setting different from the one for which it was initially designed. We study the AUI of VWs as a workplace collaboration tool which were originally conceived as recreational gaming platforms. Decision-making literature directs us to reduction of perceived cognitive burden and minimization of risk as the two key motivations for VWs’ AUI. Building on these motivations, the paper identifies cognitive absorption and user trust in VWs as the mechanisms leading to individual-level AUI decision. Drawing on social cognitive theory and literature on trust, the proposed model not only re-specifies the concept of cognitive absorption in the context of VWs but also relates it to the level of trust and usage intention for VWs. We empirically tested the proposed model via data collected from 197 VW users in Singapore. Results demonstrate the significant roles that cognitive absorption’ and user trust play in VW’s usage as a collaboration tool. Further, through a series of post-hoc analyses, we demonstrate the imperative need for considering both cognitive absorption and user trust together in the proposed research model for theoretical parsimony. We also discuss implications for research and practice emerging out of this study.
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http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/3/

PAPER FOUR
A Structured Approach for Designing Collaboration Experiences for Virtual Worlds By Andreas Schmeil, Martin J. Eppler, and Sara de Freitas
Abstract
While 3D virtual worlds are more frequently being used as interactive environments for collaboration, there is still no structured approach developed specifically for the combined design of 3D virtual environments and the collaborative activities in them. We argue that formalizing both the structural elements of virtual worlds and aspects of collaborative work or collaborative learning helps to develop fruitful collaborative work and learning experiences. As such, we present the avatar-based collaboration framework (ABC framework). Based on semiotics theory, the framework puts the collaborating groups into the center of the design and emphasizes the use of distinct features of 3D virtual worlds for use in collaborative learning environments and activities. In developing the framework, we have drawn from best practices in instructional design and game design, research in HCI, and findings and observations from our own empirical research that investigates collaboration patterns in virtual worlds. Along with the framework, we present a case study of its first application for a global collaborative learning project. This paper particularly addresses virtual world designers, educators, meeting facilitators, and other practitioners by thoroughly describing the process of creating rich collaboration and collaborative learning experiences for virtual worlds with the ABC framework.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/2/

PAPER FIVE
The Effects of Leader-Member Exchange on Member Performance in Virtual World Teams By Samuel Goh and Molly Wasko
Abstract
Understanding the role of leadership in virtual world teams may help shed light on how to manage synchronous and highly interdependent work activities. Based upon leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, we propose that the relationship between a leader and a team member (LMX) influences 1) the degree to which a team member is allocated resources by the leader (empowerment and group assignments), 2) the degree to which a team member develops relational resources with the team (trust, obligation, norms, and identification), and 3) the extent to which a team member receives or develops resources results in higher levels of individual performance. Our findings from a longitudinal field study of one large virtual world team in the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) EverQuest suggest that the leader member relationship does impact members’ allocation and development of resources, and that it’s not just the quantity of members’ resources, but also the type of member resources, that has a direct influence on performance. Our findings also indicate that the influence of the leader-member relationship on member performance is fully mediated by the allocation and development of resources. Surprisingly, there was no relationship between LMX, trust, and performance, which suggests that trust may not be as vital in virtual teams where everyone’s actions are visible. Lastly, the findings suggest that building relational capital to facilitate the transformation from self to collective interest may be an effective leadership tactic when managing large virtual teams or social collectives.
To obtain a copy of the entire article, click on the link below:
http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss10/1/