Strengthening Social Ties via ICT in the Organization

Knowledge work increasingly relies on the \ utilization of information and communication \ technology (ICT). However, communication and \ knowledge sharing via ICT may be challenging due \ the lack of physical face-to-face interaction. The \ strength of social ties is critical to the success of an \ organization, since it determines how deeply \ individuals interact with each other. Prior research \ has paid only limited attention to the role of ICT in \ the strengthening of social ties within an \ organization. To address this research gap, we have \ conducted a qualitative study outlining different tie \ strengthening characteristics of ICT. The results of \ this study suggest that especially asynchronous and \ synchronous text based interaction and \ communication history forms an effective mechanism \ for an organization to facilitate social ties. As a \ theoretical contribution, we develop a new \ theoretical model representing the intra- \ organizational characteristics of ICT in relation to \ media synchronicity and tie strength. This theoretical \ model also includes new tie-strength components for \ ICT-mediated interaction

Social Virtual Reality : Design and Potential for Social Exchange and Cohesion in Virtual Teams

Tieto ja viestintäteknologian (TVT) kautta tapahtuvan vuorovaikutuksen sujuvuus ja tehokkuus ovat tärkeäitä nykypäivän organisaatioille. Etätyön aikakaudella virtuaalitiimit ovat hajallaan ympäri maailmaa ja menestyksekäs yhteistyö ei välttämättä vaadi kasvokkain tapahtuvaa viestintää. Perinteiset etätyökalut ovat kuitenkin kaukana täydellisyydestä, erityisesti koskien niiden kykyä edistää sosiaalisten siteiden vahvistumista, tai tiimien koheesiota, jotka molemmat ovat tärkeitä virtuaalitiimien suorituskyvylle. Monet tutkijat ja ammattilaiset ennustavat, että kasvokkain tapahtuvan viestinnän puute voi merkittävästi vaikuttaa organisaatioiden pitkän aikavälin suorituskykyyn. Tämän väitöskirjan pääväite on, että monikäyttäjä-virtuaalitodellisuus (VR), jäljempänä sosiaalinen virtuaalitodellisuus (SVR), voi tarjota ratkaisun tähän ongelmaan. SVR:n potentiaali perustuu ajatukseen, jonka mukaan ihmisen kognitio on rakentunut luonnollisen, tilallisen vuorovaikutuksesta ja viestinnän ympärille. Organisaatiot ovat siksi yhä enemmän sijoittamassa SVR-teknologiaan, koska se pystyy simuloimaan tai muuttamaan lähes mitä tahansa kokemuksia, mukaan lukien kasvokkain tapahtuvan viestinnän. Emme kuitenkaan vielä tunne hyvin SVR:n mahdollisuuksia organisaation tai virtuaalitiimien viestintätehokkuuden parantamisessa. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että tehokkaampi kommunikaatio on yksi SVR:n tärkeimmistä affordansseista organisaatioille, mutta sen potentiaalia henkilökohtaisen tai ryhmätason organisatorisen viestinnän edistämisessä ei ole tutkittu huolellisesti. Lisäksi aiemmat tutkimukset tunnistavat SVR:n kyvyn ei vain simuloida, vaan parantaa sosiaalista vuorovaikutusta muotoon, jolle ei ole vastineita todellisessa maailmassa, mutta emme vielä ymmärrä tämän vaikutusta ja potentiaalia organisaatioille. Väitöskirja ottaa kantaa tähän tutkimusaukkoon tutkimalla SVR:n potentiaalia henkilöiden välisessä, mikrotason sosiaalisessa vaihdannassa ja tiimityön koheesiossa, jotka molemmat ovat tärkeitä indikaattoreita tiimityön suorituskyvylle. Väitöskirja yhdistää laadullisia, teoreettisia, empiirisiä ja suunnittelututkimuksen (design research) menetelmiä suunnittelutoimintatutkimuksen (action design research) keinoin. Väitöskirja arvioi ensin, kuinka media synkronisuus edistää tai heikentää sosiaalista vaihtoa (eli luottamuksen ja vastavuoroisuuden välisiä prosesseja) organisaatiossa. Tämän jälkeen väitöskirja tutkii, kuinka virtuaalisten tiimien sosiaalista vaihtoa voidaan parantaa SVR:n avulla. Näitä havaintoja jatketaan tarkastelemalla SVR:n tarjoamia mahdollisuuksia virtuaalisen tiimin koheesion (eli tehtävä- ja sosiaalisen koheesion) syntymisessä. Näiden tutkimusten perusteella väitöskirja muotoilee useita konkreettisia suunnitteluperiaatteita SVR:lle virtuaalisten tiimien sosiaalisen vaihdon ja koheesion kontekstissa. Väitöskirja kuvaa myös SVR- teknologian laajempia hyötyjä organisaatioille ja antaa käytännön ohjeita niiden toteuttamiseen. Väitöskirja tarjoaa ymmärrystä siitä, kuinka SVR voi parantaa organisaation etätyötä ja kommunikaatiota lieventämällä tai poistamalla merkittäviä perinteisen ICT:n rajoituksia. Väitöskirjan tulokset osoittavat, että SVR:n etuna on sekä lähes rajaton monipuolisuus sosiaalisena simulaationa että luonnollisuus tietoisen ja tiedostamattoman viestinnän välineenä. Nämä edut korostuvat erityisesti virtuaalitiimeissä ja tietotyön kaltaisessa etätyössä, jossa korostetaan osallistujien välistä korkeaa mentaalista ja henkilökohtaista yhteistyötä, sekä erilaisten näkökulmien yhteensovittamista. Väitöskirjan tulokset viittaavat myös siihen, että nämä hyödyt voidaan saavuttaa vain, jos organisaatiot keskittyvät SVR-teknologian jatkokehitykseen, sen materiaalisten ominaisuuksien ja toiminnallisuuksien edelleen kehittämiseen, sekä SVR:n integrointiin osaksi organisaation muita työvirtoja ja tietojärjestelmiä.The success of information and communications technology (ICT)-mediated interaction is vital for organizations. In the era of remote work, virtual teams are dispersed across the globe and successful collaboration does not necessarily require a face-to-face communication. However, conventional remote work tools are far from perfect, especially in terms of their ability to facilitate the strengthening of social ties, or team cohesion, which are considered crucial for the performance of virtual teams. Respectively, many researchers and practitioners predict that the lack of face-to-face communication can significantly affect organizations’ long-term performance. The main proposition of this dissertation is that multi-user virtual reality (VR) applications, hereafter social virtual reality (SVR), has the potential to provide a solution to this problem. The biggest promise of SVR relies on the premise that human cognition is built upon natural, spatial interaction, and communication. Organizations are thus increasingly investing in SVR technology, because of its ability to simulate or transform almost any experience, including face-to-face communication. However, we do not yet know much about SVR’s ability to facilitate organizational communication. Prior research has shown that communication is one of SVR’s key affordances for organizations, but its potential of facilitating interpersonal or group level communication has not been studied elaborately. Furthermore, prior studies recognize SVR’s ability to not only simulate, but enhance social interaction to something for which there is no equivalent in the real world, but we do not yet understand the impact and potential of this to organizations. This dissertation addresses to the research gap by investigating the potential of SVR in the context of social exchange and team cohesion of SVR-enabled virtual teams, both of which are important indicators of team performance. In terms of methodology, the dissertation employs an action design research (ADR) approach which combines qualitative, theory and review, empirical, and design science research (DSR) methods. The dissertation first evaluates how media synchronicity facilitates social exchange (i.e., patterns of trust and reciprocity leading to stronger social ties) in an organization. The dissertation then outlines how social exchange can be enhanced in SVR-enabled virtual teams. These observations are continued by examining the affordances of SVR in the emergence of team cohesion (i.e., task and social cohesion) in virtual teams. Based on these examinations, the dissertation proposes several design principles for SVR in the context of social exchange and team cohesion. The dissertation also describes the wider benefits of SVR technology for organizations and provides practical guidelines of how they could be realized. The dissertation provides an understanding of how SVR can enhance organizations’ remote work and communication practices by mitigating some of the most critical limitations of conventional ICTs. Results of the dissertation indicate that SVR's fundamental advantage is both its almost limitless versatility as a social simulation and naturalness as a means of conscious and subconscious communication. These advantages come to the fore especially in virtual teams and knowledge-intensive remote collaboration that emphasize high mental and personal alignment between participants. The results of the dissertation also suggest that these benefits can only be realized if organizations focus on the further development of SVR technology, its material properties, and integration of SVR with organizational workflows and information systems (IS)

Design principles for social exchange in social virtual reality-enabled virtual teams

Social virtual reality (SVR) is a novel technology that can simulate and potentially enhance our face-to-face interactions. However, our understanding of interpersonal communication in SVR is still limited. To address this research gap, we describe how SVR enables social exchange (i.e., fundamental communication patterns of trust and reciprocity between individuals), which is closely related to virtual team performance. We present an information systems design theory for social exchange in SVR-enabled virtual teams (SE-SVR). Drawing from affordance theory and social exchange theory, we describe how SVR material properties (i.e., avatars, virtual objects, virtual space, and verbal and nonverbal communication features) enable and foster social exchange in SVR. As a theoretical contribution, we propose design principles for social exchange in SVR and connect them with testable theoretical propositions. Furthermore, we present the concept of interacting with presence, which facilitates users’ affordance perceptions in SVR. We conceptually validate our design principles and illustrate our design through an artifact instantiation: XR Campus, which is a minimum viable product of a collaborative platform for the ECIU University. Our SE-SVR theory has important research and practice implications because it explains how critical aspects of organizational remote communication can be considered in SVR design.Peer reviewe

How to get things done in social virtual reality–A study of team cohesion in social virtual reality–enabled teams

Peer reviewe

Opportunities, challenges, and training needs in the use of VR in higher education and SMEs : The case of Cyprus and Finland

The use and adoption of VR solutions have increased rapidly due to recent technological developments. Over the last years, there have been many initiatives to develop and adopt VR in many different fields, including education and business. This paper describes the state-of-the-art of VR use in Cyprus and Finland, focusing on the use of VR technology in Higher Education (HE) Institutions and in Small to Medium Enterprises (SME). Interview sessions were conducted with 16 expert people from Higher Education and business to firstly identify the key technologies available and secondly to analyze the opportunities, strengths, challenges, and training needs concerning the adoption of VR. The analysis revealed essential considerations and valuable insights about the development, adoption, and promotion of VR solutions in Higher Education and the business sector.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Social extended reality—use case entities on property life cycle

Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) are collectively referred to as extended reality (XR). In recent years, the hardware and software of said technologies have developed to the point where multiuser experiences have been enabled; thus, the conversation surrounding social extended reality (SXR) has begun. SXR––or collaborative extended reality—has many possible use cases in a property’s life cycle, and the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry can be its forefront user. The AEC industry’s work assignments include visuality and multiple stakeholders; thus, the SXR’s level of applicability is high throughout the industry. Despite these possibilities, we need a more structured understanding of SXR use cases to aid in its deployment. The current research article examines and identifies the five key entities from those use cases: involving stakeholders in decision.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Educating Educators about Virtual Reality in Virtual Reality: Effective Learning Principles Operationalized in a VR Solution

Virtual Reality (VR) is transforming organizational training as users are immersed in realistic situations that may not exist yet in the physical world. The theoretical principles that make VR effective for learning in an immersive way are emerging in literature but remain poorly understood in practice nor have they been articulated in available VR solutions. This study demonstrates an IT artifact that is targeted at educators in companies and in higher education. The study synthesizes the key principles that make VR environments effective for learning, derives design principles for a corresponding artifact and demonstrates a VR solution that enables educators to absorb the principles of the power of VR by experiencing them first hand. Creating this artifact and delivering it to educators is important as they are responsible for diffusing VR to current employees in companies and future workforce in higher education.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Henkilöiden väliset heikot ja vahvat siteet hajautetussa työssä : yhteistyötä tukevat teknologiat

Lähivuosien teknologinen kehitys ja muutokset globaalissa taloudessa ovat muuttaneet monien alojen toimintaympäristöä merkittävästi. Ihmiset ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa informaatioteknologian avulla niin työssä kuin vapaa-ajallakin. Erityisesti tietotyössä on kasvava tarve hajautetulle työlle ja joustaville työjärjestelyille. Oikean yhteistyöteknologian valinta on yrityksille merkittävä liiketoimintaan vaikuttava tekijä. Tutkielman aiheena on tutkia henkilöiden välisiä siteitä (heikkoja ja vahvoja) ja sitä, kuinka niitä voidaan luoda tai ylläpitää yrityksessä tai organisaatiossa sosiaalisten ohjelmistojen avulla.Recent technological advances and changes in the global economy has had a major impact on working environment. In today’s world most people are interconnected through information technology both in their private and professional lives. There are increasing needs for distributed work and flexible work arrangements, especially in the field of knowledge work. Choosing the right tools for collaboration has become a highly crucial business driver for many companies. Subject of the thesis is to study interpersonal ties (weak or strong) and how they could be created or enhanced with social software in business or organizational environment

Media synchronicity in organizational social exchange

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to examine how media synchronicity facilitates the emergence of social exchange (i.e. trust and reciprocity) in organizations’ information and communication technology (ICT)-mediated interactions. A model of media synchronicity in organizational social exchange (MSiOSE) is proposed. Design/methodology/approach The paper has a design and review approach. The theoretical analysis is based on social exchange theory (SET) and media synchronicity theory (MST). Findings The authors propose that, in general, social exchange benefits from both asynchronous and synchronous communication processes. However, media synchronicity has different boundary conditions (i.e. pros and cons) in relation to the emergence of social exchange, determined in accordance with the mutually interacting patterns of trust and reciprocity predicted by SET. The authors provide testable theoretical propositions to support the analysis. Originality/value Social exchange is a critical business factor for organizations due to its well-known positive outcomes, such as the strengthening of social ties. The need for successful social exchange in remote work conditions is particularly emphasized. However, with regard to the communication and behavioral patterns that lead to social exchange via ICT, the theoretical understanding is limited. The study reveals previously unmapped heuristics between social exchange and physical media capabilities. Thus, the study's propositions can be used to study and analyze social exchange in the ever-changing media landscape. As a practical contribution, the study helps organizations to improve their communication strategies and use of ICT.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

The State of Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality adoption and use in European small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in 2020 : VAM Realities Survey Report

This report provides an overview on Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) adoption and use in European manufacturing SMEs in 2020. AR is a technology that combines digital objects into the user’s view of the real world with various devices, such as smartphones and head-mounted-displays (HMDs). MR is often used to refer to more advanced AR solutions, although they are also often used interchangeably. VR on the other hand replaces the user’s view of the real environment with a simulated virtual world with the help of VR HMDs. The AR, MR, and VR markets, which together constitute the overall Extended Reality (XR) market, are expected to grow rapidly during the next few years. These technologies became relevant for organizations with the emergence of the new wave of AR and VR hardware in 2016, namely with the commercial release of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR glasses, and the unveiling of the Microsoft HoloLens AR glasses. However, despite the initial excitement provided by these novel technologies, it soon became obvious that the necessary enterprise software and information systems did not yet support these new devices sufficiently to enable efficient and rapid workflows in organizational business processes. For example, digital building information models (BIM) used in the construction industry often took hours or days to export into AR or VR. This process also required manual optimizations and using several different software in order to create usable visual models for AR/VR use. This made using AR/VR time-consuming, costly, and impractical. However, now that AR and VR software have had a few years to catch up, many AR and VR software have been able to develop efficient pipelines between various software and organizational information systems and AR/VR solutions. For example, exporting digital models (such as BIM) into VR can now be done in seconds or minutes by the click of a button. Moreover, it is now even possible to edit CAD models in real-time inside VR, which can enable novel business processes. The release of vastly improved hardware chipsets (such as the Snapdragon XR2) used in the newest AR/VR devices are now also further expanding the possibilities for future software innovations in the AR/VR space, as well as business opportunities for manufacturing SMEs. These developments have made it increasingly possible to adopt these technologies in companies to increase the efficiency of organizational business processes. Accordingly, companies should take a renewed look at how different XR solutions could be implemented in their companies. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has also forced many companies to start working remotely which has compelled companies to try to find more effective ways of carrying out their business processes remotely to adapt to this new reality. This situation has accelerated the already existing trend of increasing remote work. AR and VR both present intriguing opportunities for making remote work more engaging, effective, and efficient. For example, reviewing 3D models of new product designs can now be done collaboratively in VR whereas AR can make remote support more intuitive for employees. These types of solutions can help employees stay connected even though they might not physically see each other for extended periods of time. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to take into account many different factors and requirements if they wish to start using XR technologies in their organizations. The VAM Realities project (co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union) set out to explore these issues at the beginning of 2020. We carried out 46 interviews in nine European countries and collected data from 255 respondents on the use of AR and VR in organizational settings with a survey. This document reports on these findings and results. The majority of the surveyed companies were still not using AR or VR (around 60 %), but a sizable minority (around 25 %) were using them sometimes with a smaller group (around 15 %) using them very often. However, the majority of respondents were aware of the potential that these technologies have in their organizational context but had not actively planned on using AR or VR yet. Nevertheless, a majority of the respondents (65 %) also thought that their company would use AR or VR in the future. Several different adoption barriers were identified in the interviews and via the survey. An innovative organizational culture and support from the top management were found to be necessary for AR/VR adoption. Managers should therefore acquire at least a basic understanding about these technologies, where they can be used, and what limitations they might have in their enterprise context. Employees should also be given time to delve into these technologies to figure out how they could be best used to support or transform their businesses. However, in companies which do not have employees who could be characterized as digital innovators, it is likely that AR/VR solutions will need to be acquired as complete turn-key packages in cooperation with external vendors. Companies will also need to identify the best opportunities for testing AR/VR hardware and software. University cooperation, industry associations, and vendor demonstrations were identified to have the most potential in this regard. Due to the novel nature of XR technologies, first-hand experience with relevant use cases was found to be essential for understanding their potential and limitations. These testing situations should be made to be as engaging and practical as possible in order to mitigate any possible apprehension from the employees towards XR. It is also important for companies to evaluate how well their current software and information systems can be integrated with the currently available solutions because the value of AR and VR comes mainly from presenting existing digital information to users in novel and efficient ways. In this regard, streamlined AR and VR functionalities and plugins have become available for many design software (e.g. in the BIM and CAD context) just in the last few years (2019-2020). Companies should therefore examine whether these new tools could be more easily adopted than in previous years when the first new AR and VR devices became available. Most of the surveyed companies reported that their competitors were still not using AR or VR in a noticeable way to the best of their knowledge. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ever-increasing remote work, exploring how AR and VR can create a competitive advantage in this new situation can be advantageous for companies. In the short-term, AR and VR adoption and use will still most likely focus on internal business processes or facilitated customer-facing activities because customers still largely do not have the necessary AR or VR equipment in use. Acquiring competences with AR and VR will also increase the possibilities for expanding AR and VR use in the future as more powerful solutions become available. Higher-education institutions (HEIs) can also provide important support to SMEs in acquiring these skills and capabilities through consultancy and research project collaboration.publishedVersio