TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of process structure on novice, virtual collaborative writing teams
AU - Lowry, Paul Benjamin
AU - Nunamaker, Jay F.
AU - Curtis, Aaron
AU - Lowry, Michelle René
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Defense Environmental Security Corporate Information Management (DESCIM), by the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), by the Information Systems Department and the Kevin and Debra Rollins Center for e-Business at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. The authors appreciate Queen Esther Booker’s help in data collection; development work conducted by C. Albrecht, A. Jadhav, A. Jain, and H. Manda; statistical help from D. Eggett and P. Fields; editing assistance from L. S. Rawlins, M. Thorne, S. Christensen, D. Norton, R. Sperry, J. Owen, J. Karpowitz, T. Spaulding, and T. Wells; and those who reviewed earlier versions of this work, including I. Zigurs, J. Bonito, J. Hansen, J. Burgoon, J. Lee, and D. Dean.
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - Asynchronous-distributed (AD) collaborative writing (CW) is an important form of the growing trend of distributed work. However, AD CW typically results in multiple process losses. We argue that using advanced writing technologies designed for AD work alone is not sufficient by itself to overcome these losses. Instead, adopting high levels of process structure delivered in the form of explicitly written procedural scripts can improve the results of AD CW groups. We performed an experiment with over 500 participants working in groups supported by advanced CW technologies that were designed for AD work. Participants were given six weeks to conduct their work. We found that high levels of process structure in novice AD CW groups that worked on a moderately complex task created significantly better outcomes than did groups using low levels of process structure. Groups with high levels of process structure had better results in terms of production, document quality, satisfaction, relationships, and communication. In no case did low-structure groups outperform high-structure groups. This research supports our hypothesis that increased process structure delivered in the form of a repeatable process script can decrease process losses and increase process gains in novice AD CW groups. We conclude that it is not sufficient to give novice AD writing groups CW technology and time to conduct their tasks; these groups also need appropriate procedural support, which can be provided effectively through written scripts.
AB - Asynchronous-distributed (AD) collaborative writing (CW) is an important form of the growing trend of distributed work. However, AD CW typically results in multiple process losses. We argue that using advanced writing technologies designed for AD work alone is not sufficient by itself to overcome these losses. Instead, adopting high levels of process structure delivered in the form of explicitly written procedural scripts can improve the results of AD CW groups. We performed an experiment with over 500 participants working in groups supported by advanced CW technologies that were designed for AD work. Participants were given six weeks to conduct their work. We found that high levels of process structure in novice AD CW groups that worked on a moderately complex task created significantly better outcomes than did groups using low levels of process structure. Groups with high levels of process structure had better results in terms of production, document quality, satisfaction, relationships, and communication. In no case did low-structure groups outperform high-structure groups. This research supports our hypothesis that increased process structure delivered in the form of a repeatable process script can decrease process losses and increase process gains in novice AD CW groups. We conclude that it is not sufficient to give novice AD writing groups CW technology and time to conduct their tasks; these groups also need appropriate procedural support, which can be provided effectively through written scripts.
KW - Asynchronous-distributed (AD) work
KW - Collaboration
KW - Collaborative writing (CW)
KW - Distributed group work
KW - Internet-based work
KW - Process structure
KW - Self-sustaining groups
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U2 - 10.1109/TPC.2005.859728
DO - 10.1109/TPC.2005.859728
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:29344473093
SN - 0361-1434
VL - 48
SP - 341
EP - 364
JO - IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
JF - IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
IS - 4
ER -