Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Editorial to the Special Issue

Virtual worlds are Internet-based three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated environments where users interact through “avatars” – a computer-generated representation of themselves that they control in terms of appearance and behavior. In recent years, virtual worlds have evolved into sophisticated social systems where millions of people regularly collaborate. For dispersed organizational teams, they represent a viable collaboration environment in which users can integrate different communication channels and manipulate digital artifacts that represent actual team deliverables. In this editorial to the Special Issue on Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds, we discuss past research and highlight key findings with respect to five dimensions of collaborative work: technology, people, information, process, and leadership. We conclude with a discussion of the key research challenges that lie ahead to shape the research agenda for team collaboration in virtual worlds and metaverses

Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: The Role of Task Complexity

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional, computer-generated worlds where team collaboration can be facilitated through the useof shared virtual space and mediated using an avatar. In this study, we examined the effect of task complexity on teamcollaboration. We used a puzzle game in Second Life as the collaborative task and manipulated task component complexityby varying the number of pieces in the puzzle. We hypothesize that task complexity will influence team trust, team processsatisfaction, and one’s attraction to the team in virtual team collaboration. The experimental results show that task complexityhas significant effects on team trust and team process satisfaction

Virtual Worlds: The Role of Rooms and Avatars in Virtual Teamwork

Recently, virtual worlds have excited the interest of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) researchers, as potential formal and informal meeting environments for virtual teams. We report an action research study of a locally distributed team of researchers using a dedicated environment within the virtual world Second Life to support their collaboration. We investigate, here, the benefits, challenges and opportunities of virtual worlds as collaboration tools. We found that effective collaboration can take place in virtual worlds but that, in respect of synchronous collaboration, there appears little additional value in the 3D spaces and avatars of virtual worlds over more traditional video-conferencing, The results suggest that the specific benefits of virtual worlds do not fully come into play in a synchronous teamwork context, but there is some evidence of value over longer periods of collaboration – support for projects – and for the looser collaborations which typify communities

Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: The Role of Task Complexity

Virtual worlds are three-dimensional, computer-generated worlds where team collaboration is facilitated through the use of shared virtual space. In this research, we are interested in studying the effect of task complexity on team collaboration. We use a puzzle as the collaboration task and manipulate task complexity using the number of puzzle pieces. We hypothesize that task complexity will influence team cohesion as well as satisfaction with team process and outcome, increase the time taken to complete the task, and increase the relative unevenness in team members\u27 contributions in terms of physical effort to accomplish the task due to the increased challenge of the task

Modelling the Metaverse: A Theoretical Model of Effective Team Collaboration in 3D Virtual Environments

In this paper, a theoretical model of effective team collaboration in 3D virtual environments is presented. The aim of this model is to enhance our understanding of the capabilities exerting influence on effective 3D virtual team collaboration. The model identifies a number of specific capabilities of 3D virtual worlds that can contribute to this team effectiveness. Compared to "traditional" computer-mediated collaboration technologies, 3D virtual environments support team collaboration primarily through (a) the shared virtual environment, and (b) avatar-based interaction. Through the shared virtual environment, users experience higher levels of presence (a feeling of actually "being there"), realism and interactivity. These capabilities increase the users' level of information processing.  Avatar-based interaction induces greater feelings of social presence (being with others) and control over  self-presentation (how one wants to be perceived by others), thus increasing the level of communication support in the 3D environment. Through greater levels of information and communication support, a higher level of shared understanding is reached, which in turn positively influences team performance. Our paper concludes by presenting several propositions which allow further empirical testing, implications for research and practice, and suggestions for future research. The insights obtained from this paper can help developers of these virtual worlds to design standards for the capabilities that influence effective team collaboration in 3D virtual environments.

REAL DECISIONS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS: TEAM COLLABORATION AND DECISION MAKING IN 3D VIRTUAL WORLDS

This study investigates how 3D virtual worlds (3DVWs) support team collaboration. Based on Media Synchronicity Theory, we pose that the shared environment and avatar-based interaction allowed by 3DVWs aid convergence processes in teams working on a decision making task, leading to increased shared understanding between team members. This increases performance of decision making teams. An experiment was conducted in which 70 teams of 3 participants had to decide on a spatial planning issue. The teams interacted using synchronous text-based chat, a 3D virtual decision room, or were present in the virtual environment mirroring the spatial planning task. Results revealed that in both the virtual decision room and the virtual environment shared understanding was higher than in the text-based chat condition. This led to higher task performance in terms of consensus, satisfaction, and cohesion. Our results show that 3DVWs offer potential for team collaboration over more traditional text-based collaboration technologies

Final Project 3.0: A Student Virtual World Conference on the Future of Collaboration

There is currently little research of any kind on enterprise virtual worlds or using these collaborative tool ecosystems for geographically distributed education in organizational studies. In 2013, a group of multidisciplinary graduate students created and executed a conference in a 3D virtual world as a class project. The topics presented in the conference were crowdsourcing and mobile virtual worlds, but the overall experience resulted in learning well beyond those topics. The project team encountered a significant learning curve over planning and executing in person meetings as well as technical challenges that would threaten the success of the project. This paper describes the end-to-end process taken by the team to plan and execute the conference, and shows the challenges, successes, and the lessons learned that can be applied to future conferences in 3D virtual worlds, which promise incredible potential for improving collaboration across businesses

Hype or Help? A Longitudinal Field Study of Virtual World Use for Team Collaboration

Despite increasing organizational interest and investment in virtual worlds (VWs), there is a lack of research on the benefits of VWs. When and how does the use of VW systems engender better organizational outcomes than traditional collaborative technologies? This paper investigates the value of VWs for team collaboration. Team collaboration is particularly relevant in studying VWs given the rich interactive nature of VWs and an increasing organizational reliance on virtual teamwork. To understand the value of VW use for team collaboration, we examine the relationship between a team’s disposition toward IT, their general disposition (personality) and VW use in influencing team cohesion and performance. We conducted a field study that compares two collaborative technology systems – one that is based on a traditional desktop metaphor and one that is grounded in the principles of a virtual world. We tracked the use of the systems for one year. We analyzed data at the team level and the results generally support our model, with agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, and computer self-efficacy interacting with time and technology type to positively influence team technology use. We also found that the use of the virtual world system positively influenced the relationship between technology use and team cohesion, which, in turn, predicts team performance. The model explains 57 percent, 21 percent, and 24 percent of the variance in team technology use, team cohesion, and team performance, respectively

Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Introduction to the Special Issue

HCERES Rang A, FNEGE Rang 2International audienceTeam Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Introduction to the Special Issu

Avatars, People, and Virtual Worlds: Foundations for Research in Metaverses

Metaverses are immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds in which people interact as avatars with each other and with software agents, using the metaphor of the real world but without its physical limitations. The ubiquitous availability of high speed Internet access has spurred enormous interest in virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft, both in terms of user gaming and as a new technological platform for global virtual collaboration. These environments have potential for richer, more engaging collaboration, but their capabilities have yet to be examined in depth. Of particular interest in this paper is the use of metaverses for virtual team collaboration. We develop a conceptual model for research in metaverses that is based on five key constructs: (1) the metaverse itself, (2) people/avatars, (3) metaverse technology capabilities, (4) behaviors, and (5) outcomes. We present an in-depth characterization of metaverse technology capabilities from a socio-technical view that recognizes the potential for variation in emergent interaction and in outcomes. Example propositions and a discussion of key issues and challenges show how the model can be used to further research and practice in virtual teams in the context of these new environments