Globally Distributed Engineering Design Teams: Cultural, Social, and Technological Factors Influencing Group Process and Performance

本研究的目的是实证检验新兴计算和通信技术对从事特定类型的协同工作-工程设计的全球分布式团队绩效的影响。主要目标是调查社会和文化因素如何影响协作工具的使用和效果，特别是如何影响分布式团队沟通过程和团队绩效。设计团队由隶属于亚洲、欧洲和北美院校联盟的工程专业学生和与我们的工业合作伙伴合作的工程师组成，为他们提供协作工具。在项目工作之前、期间和之后对团队成员进行的调查和彻底访谈强调了分布式团队沟通与知识分发过程、计算机媒介沟通支持和文化因素之间的相互作用。这项研究的结果将为使用基于计算机的通信和协作工具提供新的方法，以帮助分布的群体克服与极端地理分散和文化差异相关的问题。这项研究的一个特殊应用是提高由来自世界不同地区的成员组成的团队在其家乡成功的可能性。因此，它在国际工程设计、工程教育和协作系统开发方面具有应用。http://cscw.msu.edu

The purpose of this research is to examine empirically the effects of emerging computing and communications technologies on the performance of globally distributed teams engaged in a specific type of collaborative work - engineering design. The primary objective is to investigate how social and cultural factors shape usage and effects of collaborative tools, and in particular shape distributed team communication processes and team performance. Design teams comprised of engineering students affiliated with a consortium of institutions in Asia, Europe and North America, and engineers working with our industrial partners are provided with collaboration tools. Surveys and thorough interviews with team members before, during and after project work highlight the interactions between distributed group communication and knowledge distribution processes, computer-mediated communication supports, and cultural factors. The results of this research will provide new approaches for using computer-based communication and collaboration tools to help distributed groups overcome problems associated with extreme geographic dispersion and cultural differences. A particular application of the research is to improve the likelihood of success of teams comprised of members from differing regions of the world who remain in their home locations. It thus has applications for international engineering design, engineering education, and collaborative systems development.http://cscw.msu.edu