In this paper, we review and analyze the emerging network paradigm in organizational research. We begin with a conventional review of recent research organized around recognized research streams. Next, we analyze this research, developing a set of dimensions along which network studies vary, including direction of causality, levels of analysis, explanatory goals, and explanatory mechanisms. We use the latter two dimensions to construct a 2-by-2 table cross-classifying studies of network consequences into four canonical types: structural social capital, social access to resources, contagion, and environmental shaping. We note the rise in popularity of studies with a greater sense of agency than was traditional in network research.

1 Abstract (100 words) Multi-university collaborations draw on diverse resources and expertise but they impose coordination costs for bridging institutional differences and geographic distance. We report a study of the coordination activities and project outcomes of 491 research collaborations funded by the US National Science Foundation. Coordination activities, especially division of responsibility for tasks and knowledge transfer among investigators, predicted project outcomes (e.g., producing new knowledge, creating new tools, and training students). However, more universities involved in a collaboration predicted fewer coordination activities and fewer project outcomes. A statistical mediation analysis showed that insufficient coordination explained the negative relationship between multi-university collaboration and project outcomes.

Well before the coming of the Internet, strong ties with friends and relatives stretched well beyond the neighborhood: the traditional domain of community. Phones, cars and planes allowed people to have contact over substantial distances. But the mere fact that ties stretched over long distances does not tell us the extent to which distance mattered for contact and support in pre-Internet days. Although scholars have mused about this question, they have not provided empirical evidence. This paper applies multi-level analysis to assess the extent contact and support declines with distance. It shows a marked drop in the frequency of face-to-face contact at about five miles. The frequency of contact continues to decrease steadily further away, with substantial declines happening at about 50 miles and 100 miles. Distance affects telephone contact somewhat differently, with a marked drop only happening at about 100 miles. Distance also has a significant impact on providing tangible support. As our data were gathered in 1978 in the Toronto area of East York, they allow comparisons with how relationships have changed in light of new forms of communication, such as the Internet and mobile phones.

We present a study of the effects of instant messaging (IM) on individuals ’ management of work across multiple collaborative projects. Groups of four participants completed four web design tasks. Each participant worked on two tasks, each task with a different partner who was either co-located or remote, connected via IM. In one condition, each participant had one co-located and one remote partner. In a second condition, both partners were remote. We examined communication, division of labor, and task performance as a function of condition. The results indicated that nearly all participants divided their time unequally between projects, but less unequally in the remote/remote condition. In the co-located/remote condition, participants favored the task with the co-located partner. The results show that the effects of IM differ depending on people’s multiple tasks are distributed across space. We propose a new IM interface that promotes awareness of multiple collaborators on multiple tasks.

Scientific collaborations are increasingly being conducted at a distance, despite the many factors that make collaboration at a distance difficult. We focus on the discipline of cognitive science because it is both young and highly interdisciplinary, thus potentially increasing both the rewards and difficulties of collaboration at a distance. Using questionnaire data from practicing cognitive scientists, we examined the impact of distance on who is likely to collaborate, the success of the collaboration, and the process of collaboration. There were few differences between those collaborating at a distance and locally. Surprisingly, collaborations at a distance were more successful than collaborations conducted locally. Distant collaborations depended crucially on frequent face-to-face contact. We conclude with a discussion of how these results change our understanding of collaboration in general and, in particular, of collaboration at a distance. 528 Modern scientific collaborations frequently are carried out by researchers who are geographically distributed, in part because necessary resources for the research are often distributed geographically, and in part because scientific collaborations continue after collaborators change academic or research institutions. In this chapter, we examine the nature

Many of the designations used by the manufactures and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Every attempt has been made to supply trademark information about manufactures and their products mentioned in this dissertation. A list of the trademark designations and their owners appears below. Trademark notice Access, Netmeeting, Sharepoint Team Services, Windows, and Windows 2000 Server are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Post-it is a trademark of 3M Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds Professional Quest is a trademark of Dipolar Pty Limited Yahoo! Groups is a trademark of Yahoo! Domino is a trademark of IBM/Lotus Authorware is a trademark of Macromedia Toolbook is a trademark of Click2Learn

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Collaborative brainstorming can be a challenging but important part of creative group problem solving. Mind-mapping has the potential to enhance the brainstorming process but has its own challenges when used in a group. We introduce GroupMind, a collaborative mind-mapping tool that addresses these challenges and opens new opportunities for creative teamwork, including brainstorming. We present a semi-controlled evaluation of GroupMind and its impact on teamwork, problem solving and collaboration for brainstorming activities. GroupMind performs better than using a traditional whiteboard in both interaction group and nominal group settings for the task involving memory recall. The hierarchical mind-map structure also imposes important framing effects on group dynamics and idea organization during the brainstorming process. We also present design ideas to assist in the development of future tools to support creative problem solving in groups. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation (e.g., HCI)]: Group and Organization Interfaces – collaborative computing, computer-supported cooperative work, evaluation/methodology, synchronous interaction.

This paper presents a method of harnessing a wearable computing infrastructure of PDAs and cell phones to capture detailed information on face-to-face interactions within the workplace. The system is designed to quantify the underlying dynamics of group behavior typically unavailable to distributed group members. It is our hypothesis that this additional source of social information will help make distributed teams more cohesive.

This paper challenges the normative conception of the relationships of team goals and hidden agendas to team performance. In a 23-month participant observation study of a successful multi-organizational virtual team, I found that the members ’ actions were consistently motivated by local considerations. Based on these findings, I argue that team goal commitment may be an inappropriate goal for many virtual teams and offer an alternative model for the relationship between a virtual team goal and team performance.