Sebastian Kernbach

The Use of Visualization in the Communication of Business Strategies An Experimental Evaluation

An experiment was conducted to gather empirical evidence regarding whether the use of visualization is better than text in the communication of a business strategy. A total of 76 managers saw a presentation of the strategy of the financial services branch of an international car manufacturer. The visual representation of the strategy was chosen as the independent variable, and the effects on the audience were measured. Three types of visual support were chosen as conditions: bulleted list, visual metaphor, and temporal diagram. Each subject saw one representation format only. Subjects who were exposed to a graphic representation of the strategy paid significantly more attention to, agreed more with, and better recalled the strategy than did subjects who saw a (textually identical) bulleted list version. However, no significant difference was found regarding the understanding of the strategy. Subjects who were exposed to a graphic representation of the strategy perceived the presentation and the presenter significantly more positively than did those who received the presentation through a bulleted list.

Slip-Sliding-Away: A Review of the Literature on the Constraining Qualities of PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a dominant communication tool in business and education. It allows for creating professional-looking presentations easily, but without understanding its constraining qualities it can be used inappropriately. Therefore we conducted a systematic literature review structuring the literature on PowerPoint in three chronological phases (Early Criticism, Heated Debate, and Scientific Take-Off) and identifying 18 constraining qualities classified into three categories: cognitive, emotional, and social. This article provides implications for educators’ and practitioners’ use (and nonuse) of PowerPoint through synthesis and description of such constraining qualities. Directions for future research are developed by identifying theoretical gaps in literature on PowerPoint.

Supporting knowledge-intensive collaboration through interactive dynamic diagrams

Many current collaboration and meeting tools are static or rigid. In this paper we argue that interactive methods can improve real-time team collaboration. We propose three dynamic diagrams that assist teams in their problem solving activities. Specifically we present the Roper Consumer Styles dynagram for greater client focus, the Sankey dynagram for idea and target matching, and the Confluence dynagram for solution design. We report from application experiences with these techniques in group collaboration and provide three underlying principles for the design of such visual collaboration tools.

Digital Knowledge Mapping

In this chapter, we propose that visual knowledge mapping is a very effective way of sharing, integrating and creating knowledge and value for collaborative work in organizations. We present online visual collaboration tools that enable digital change in organizations and present the theoretical bases which explains the benefits of visualization for facilitating digital collaboration. We provide illustrative examples and further propose a classification of ten visual tools to show organizations what these tools are useful for, and which criteria are relevant to assess and select visual collaborative tools. We conclude with key learnings and a checklist for the integration of visual collaboration tools in organizations.