Abstract
In this chapter we report a series of studies on the use of multimedia communication technologies. These studies in the lab and in the workplace have explored how people in distributed teams communicate and collaborate. We have identified several aspects of the process of communication and collaboration process which multimedia technologies can support very effectively and others that are more problematic for distributed virtual teams. The investigations we conducted explored the communication process in detail, examining aspects of the turn taking process, the patterns of interactions among team members and how these related to the way the communication technologies had been implemented. The results indicated that the way facilities are implemented and factors such as status and organizational relationships can have noticeable impacts on the behaviour of virtual teams. Suggestions will be made about how to exploit multimedia technologies to deliver real benefits for virtual team working.
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Anderson, A.H. et al. (2005). Exploring Why Virtual Teamworking is Effective in the Lab but More Difficult in the Workplace. In: Bromme, R., Hesse, F.W., Spada, H. (eds) Barriers and Biases in Computer-Mediated Knowledge Communication. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24319-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-24319-4_6
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