VOSS: The Roles of Awareness and Social Networks in the Initiation and Sustenance of Research-Oriented Virtual Organizations

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this project is to understand the role of awareness in the initiation and sustenance of research-oriented virtual organizations. Research-oriented virtual organizations enable: 1) interaction between researchers with diverse perspectives who might not otherwise work together; 2) the sharing of expensive and scarce resources; and 3) novel ways of accomplishing tasks and solving problems. Despite these advantages, one frequent problem encountered by members of research-oriented virtual organizations is persistent difficulty in communicating and coordinating with remote colleagues. One key reason for this is that many research-oriented virtual organizations lack the capacity to support effective awareness and interaction among their members as projects progress. This work builds on theories of social networks and transactive memory as well as theories of interpersonal awareness in focusing on what we call ?awareness networks? ? that is, networks of individuals who, at some level of detail, keep track of each other. The work focuses on 3 key issues: 1) developing a novel two-staged approach to awareness that bridges the current theoretical and practical gap between the initiation of research-oriented virtual organizations and sustained effective work; 2) developing an understanding of the roles of network ties in interpersonal awareness that allow us to apply a network- and relationship-based understanding of individuals to the larger problem of designing tools to provide interpersonal awareness and expertise information in research-oriented virtual organizations and communities; 3) extending transactive memory theory to include multiple dimensions of awareness beyond simple knowledge of expertise distribution. This work will result in new theories and technologies that inform and enhance our ability to support virtual organizations that address key challenges confronting society. Prospective and current ROVO members will be better able to locate each other, coordinate and collaborate toward successful joint outcomes.