Virtual Teams in 3D Virtual Environments: A Comparative Analysis of Project Team Innovation

University Of Oregon Eugene, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

This research investigates the conditions under which three-dimensional virtual environments (3DVEs) best support innovation. Ideally, virtual teams can support innovation by providing the benefits of diverse knowledge acquired from different contexts. However, while traditional information communication technology (ICT) has made virtual teams possible, it does not provide the ?co-presence? that face-to-face communicators use to draw inferences about one another?s knowledge, limiting the understanding and problem solving necessary for innovation. 3DVEs offer an electronic surrogate for face-to-face communication. But, despite the promise of 3DVEs, little is known of how teams operate in 3D virtual worlds or what work practices are more successful. A multidisciplinary team composed of researchers specializing in organization theory and learning in virtual environments has partnered with computer scientists from Sun Microsystems to explore the co-evolution of technical tools and work routines in 3DVEs and to evaluate which technical tools and work routines best support innovation. The team will conduct a comparative analysis of nine project teams at Sun Microsystems: one group of three teams using traditional ICT, a second group of three teams operating in Sun?s 3DVE?Wonderland?and a third group of three teams operating in Linden Labs? 3DVE?Second Life. This research will advance our understanding of virtual teams and sociotechnical systems as well as collaborative innovation and learning in 3DVEs. Society at large will benefit from advancing understanding of the effectiveness of 3DVEs for learning and innovation.