Introduction to Collaboration Systems and Technology Track

Groups exist to create value that cannot be created through individual effort. Collaboration systems are information systems tailored to overcome the obstacles inherent in the creation of value through joint effort. Collaboration engenders economic, interpersonal, social, political, cognitive, emotional, physical, and technical challenges. Groups can improve key outcomes using collaboration technologies, but any technology that can be used well can also be used badly. Collaboration technologies alone do not assure successful collaboration. The benefits of collaboration technology can only be realized in the larger context of a collaboration system, a combination of actors, hardware, software, knowledge, and work practices to advance groups toward their goals. Designers of collaboration systems must therefore address many issues when creating a new collaboration system. This track seeks new work from researchers in many disciplines to foster a growing a body of exploratory, theoretical, experimental, and applied research that could inform design and deployment choices for collaboration systems. We seek papers that address individual, group, organizational, and social factors that affect outcomes of interest among people making joint efforts toward a group goal. We look for papers from the range of epistemological and methodological perspectives. Behavioral science and design science papers are welcome. The track seeks to synthesize broader understandings in the diversity of approaches that contributors bring to the conference.