Kai Riemer

ECollaboration: On the nature and emergence of communication and collaboration technologies

The past decades yielded fundamental changes to the ways in which value creation is being organized. Globalization and market deregulation motivate businesses to expand into new, often remote markets, which requires them to decentralize and distribute work and often to partner with local organizations, which in turn brings with it changes to the ways in which people need to organize their work (Bleecker 1994). Also, shorter product life-cycles and the pressure to constantly innovate have led many businesses to experiment with new organizational structures (Quinn 1992). This leads to a situation, in which businesses today need to manage numerous external collaborative relationships with other parties in the marketplace (Ebers 1999). Furthermore, traditional internal structures are being broken up in order to give way to more flexible and responsive work setups. The ramifications of these developments are that people increasingly work in dispersed setups and are involved in changing, multi-project setups with others from different organizational backgrounds and geographical sites (Belanger et al. 2003; Lipnack and Stamps 2000; Weinkauf et al. 2004). Hence, since people often do not share the same organizational and physical environments with their direct work associates, they have to rely on technology to create shared virtual work environments. In the above context, eCollaboration as a topic refers to all issues of ICT-based collaborations within and between organizations. More specifically, the term eCollaboration describes practices of communication, coordination and collaboration between people in distributed contexts, such as projects, (virtual) teams, or processes in and between organizations, which are enabled by Information and Collaboration Technology, in essence: eCollaboration systems. Alternative terms exist to describe this class of ICT, such as: Groupware system, CSCW system, Workgroup Computing, Collaborative Software or Cooperation systems. eCollaboration systems have come a long way since the first experimental systems were piloted and spearheaded by the Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) research community (Greif 1988; Schmidt 1991; Teufel 1996; Wendel 1996). Today, fuelled by advances in software and in particular Internet technology (e.g. Web 2.0 interface techniques) many new systems and technologies have emerged. However, while technology vendors stress the new possibilities offered by their products for managing collaborations, the realities in distributed projects, virtual teams, and inter-organizational networks quite often paint a different picture. E-Collaboration is a complex, precarious, and too often rather ineffective undertaking. While the resulting (virtual) work environments present manifold managerial challenges, at the same time the respective eCollaboration technologies are still emerging at a fast pace. Computer software and telecommunications technology are increasingly converging to create new integrated eCollaboration platforms, while the K. Riemer (*) The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia e-mail: k.riemer@econ.usyd.edu.au

Is the V-form the next generation organisation? An analysis of challenges, pitfalls and remedies of ICT-enabled virtual organisations based on social capital theory

ICT-enabled virtual organisations (VOs) are regarded as the appropriate organisational response to turbulent markets. Although much has been written about the structural characteristics and propositions of VOs, their inherent limitations and structural shortcomings remain largely unaddressed. Based on the structural properties of VOs, most frequently discussed in the literature, we introduce the V-form organisation as an ideal type of VOs. A conceptual analysis, however, reveals a mismatch between espoused benefits of the ideal type and preconditions in terms of collaborative practices needed to succeed in a turbulent environment. Dealing with complex tasks in a collaborative environment requires shared understanding, shared values and a level of social cohesion, which do not simply emerge in a virtual setting. Social capital theory addresses the social and cultural preconditions of collaboration. Our analysis shows preconditions for successful value creation in VOs and suggests management measures to foster and facilitate environments for the development of social capital.

Rethinking the place of the artefact in IS using Heidegger's analysis of equipment

The IT artefact, conceived as a bundle of features or properties, is frequently seen as the core object of interest in IS. We argue that this view of IT derives from a worldview that stresses a duality between the individual and the external world. Using a stylized account of an IT implementation project, we show how this worldview conditions the phenomena that show up as most central in the IS discipline and the way mainstream theories and research approaches make sense of these phenomena. Retelling the same story through the lens of Heideggers analysis of equipment in Being and Time (1927/1962), we present an alternative conception of IT as equipment holistically interwoven with other equipment, user practices, and individual identities. This allows rethinking what are central and peripheral concepts and phenomena in the IS discipline, and outline implications of such a shift for IS theorising, research practice and design.

Enterprise social networking

We examine the uses and value of Enterprise social networking (ESN).We employ a mixed methods approach.Obtaining ideas through participating work discussions is the chief source of value.ESN facilitates interactions and offers a space for knowledge creation. Employees sustained knowledge contributions and their engagement in the platform is needed to materialize the organizational benefits from enterprise social networking (ESN). This paper adopts a knowledge management perspective on ESN. Through a mixed methods approach we examine how employees use ESN and the value of these uses. With a qualitative content analysis we identify five uses of ESN, problem solving, ideas and work discussion, events and updates, task management, and informal talk. With a survey we further show how these uses drive value of ESN. The results demonstrate that generating and obtaining new ideas for work by participating in discussions and finding solutions for work-related problems are the key sources of value. The results further show that the socially and work-oriented ESN uses are closely intertwined. Hence, the informal discussions in ESN are a lubricant for more utilitarian uses that should not be crowded out from the platform. Finally, we theorize that a specific advantage of ESN over information repositories and discussion forums is how ESN enables users to meet their social and work-related goals simultaneously. Our study offers a granular view of ESN use and guidance for developing organizational ESN policies.

Network Management Framework

The chapter identifies and highlights network specific management issues. It does so by presenting a walk-through of the DOMINO network management framework. The different views and building blocks are introduced and respective management challenges are elaborated.

The Many Faces of Personalization

The emergence of internet technology results in manifold opportunities of cost-effective one-to-one relationships with customers. It is intended to provide customer oriented information and products etc. in an individualized one-to-one manner. This chapter will give a conceptual overview of the personalization concept and will discuss how mass customization (product personalization) can be useful accompanied by other personalization activities, e.g. personalization of communication and customer interaction. Therefore the concept of personalization is integrated into the online marketing mix. The marketing mix discussion leads to a personalization performance system which shows the potential objects of web personalization activities from a customer’s point of view giving a guideline for planning personalization activities. The model consists of the three main layers product & services, website and communication. This chapter will also provide a definition of concepts and an economic motivation of personalization and mass customization. Doing so, we want to integrate the marketing view of personalization and mass customization with the visualization of the personalization performance system.

From Top to Bottom

Social media, such as social networking platforms, are increasingly gaining importance in enterprise contexts. Enterprise social networking (ESN) is often associated with improved communication, information-sharing and problem-solving. At the same time, ESN has been argued to diminish the role of formal influence in that users increasingly derive authority from their contributions to the network rather than from their position in the organizational hierarchy. Others argue that ESN will diminish influence considerably by producing more democratic and inclusive communication structures. Yet, these assertions have so far remained largely unexplored empirically. Against this background, we explore what influence both a user’s position in the organization’s hierarchy and a user’s contributions on the network have on the the ability to elicit responses from other ESN users. We draw on a unique data set of more than 110,000 messages collected from the ESN platform used at Deloitte Australia. While we find evidence for both kinds of influence, our data also reveals that informal influence has a stronger effect and that, as the ESN community matures over time, communication structures become indeed more inclusive and balanced across hierarchical levels. We contribute a set of propositions that theorize the ways in which influence and communication pattern are shaped during the process of ESN emergence. Our results further underline the potentials of ESN to improve organic, user-driven communication and knowledge sharing within firms.

Biased Listing in Electronic Marketplaces: Exploring Its Implications in On-Line Hotel Distribution

Biased listing is the practice of listing items in electronic marketplaces according to criteria other than the normally expected ones (e.g., relevance or quality). This study investigates the existence, nature, and implications of biased listing effects using the case of an on-line hotel distribution platform. The study is based on real-life booking data provided by Hotel.de, the second-largest hotel-booking platform in Europe, which lists hotels according to the value of their contracts. The contribution of the study is threefold: (1) it reveals the existence of biased listing effects in an e-marketplace for products and services; (2) it explores the nature and functioning of biased listing as a combination of ranking and labeling effects, revealing a crowding-out effect that affects hotels that do not switch to higher-value contracts; (3) it discusses the implications and strategic options for the market parties. The study shows how market providers that engage in biased listing practices are able to exploit their gatekeeper position by making suppliers compete for listing positions on the platform. This research contributes to a better understanding of the role of e-marketplaces as gatekeepers between supply and demand and, at the same time, is part of a wider context of research on consumer decision-making in informationrich decision situations.

E-Collaboration Systems: Identification of System Classes using Cluster Analysis

E-Collaboration systems have become the backbone infrastructure to support virtual work in and across organizations. Fuelled by recent technology trends the market today offers an abundance of systems that often support a wide range of communication and collaboration features. In this article I present a study that aims to shed light on the market for E-Collaboration systems by structuring the range of available systems into meaningful classes. To this end, a sample of 94 E-Collaboration systems were characterized using a classification approach. A cluster analysis led to the identification of five system classes and a range of sub classes. I describe the system classes and discuss trends of systems integration and convergence. The results should be equally helpful for researchers who deal with E-Collaboration systems as their objects of interest, as well as for business executives, who need to gather information to support buying decisions.

A Review of Microblogging in the Enterprise

Abstract As a worldwide phenomenon, Microblogging has gained increasing popularity. Twitter has not only attracted more than 100 Million active users in its six year history but is also said to have a considerable impact on public communication as is signified by its use during the Arab spring movement. In the corporate arena, the Enterprise Microblogging platform Yammer claims to have grown to more than 100000 corporate users. Since Microblogging is claimed to have benefits in fostering communication and knowledge sharing within enterprises, it seems timely to take a closer look at the phenomenon. Our paper summarizes the state of the art on Enterprise Microblogging. It reviews three Enterprise Microblogging case studies and compares their key findings regarding implementation, use and created benefits. Zusammenfassung