Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) disseminates innovative research results and provides an interdisciplinary forum for the debate and exchange of ideas concerning theoretical, practical, technical, and social issues in CSCW. The journal encompasses the diverse nature of research within the field and its related areas. Coverage ranges from ethnographic studies of cooperative work to reports on the development of CSCW.

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Examples:

• Roomware.

• Shared tables, wall displays.

• Digital whiteboards.

• Electronic meeting systems.

• Single display groupware.

• Group Decision Support System.

• Development

• Computer-supported cooperative work, collaborative computing, and groupware have become common labels in our contemporary technological vocabulary. While some have discussed the potential for such technologies to enhance organizational effectiveness (Dyson, 1990; Govani, 1992; PC Week, 1991; Marshak, 1990), others have suggested that the implementation of such technologies is more difficult and yields more unintended consequences than is typically acknowledged (Bullen and Bennett, 1990; Grudin, 1988; Kiesler, 1986; Kling, 1991; Perin, 1991). Empirical studies of groupware usage in organizations are clearly needed to shed light on these diverse expectations. While there have been many field studies of electronic mail usage (Bair and Gale, 1988; Eveland and Bikson, 1986; Feldman, 1987; Finholt and Sproull, 1990; Mackay, 1988; Markus, 1987; Sproull and Kiesler, 1986), groupware technologies (that include more collaborative features than electronic mail) have been studied less frequently.

• In this paper I describe the findings of an exploratory field study that examined the implementation of the groupware product Notes (from Lotus Development Corporation) into one office of a large organization. [Notes supports communication, coordination, and collaboration within groups or organizations through such features as electronic mail, computer conferences, shared data bases, and customized views. See Marshak (1990) for more details on the product.] My interest in studying the implementation of this product was to investigate whether and how the use of a collaborative tool changes the nature of work and the pattern of social interactions in the office, and with what intended and unintended consequences. Two organizational elements seem especially relevant in influencing the effective utilization of groupware: people's cognitions, or mental models, about technology and their work, and the structural properties of the organization, such as policies, norms, and reward systems. The findings suggest that where people's mental models do not understand or appreciate the collaborative nature of groupware, such technologies will be interpreted and used as if they were more familiar technologies, such as personal, stand-alone software (e.g., a spreadsheet or word-processing program). Also, where the premises underlying the groupware technology (shared effort, cooperation, collaboration) are countercultural to an organization's structural properties (competitive and individualistic culture, rigid hierarchy, etc.), the technology will be unlikely to facilitate collective use and value. That is, where there are few incentives or norms for cooperating or sharing expertise, groupware technology alone cannot engender these. Conversely, where the structural properties do support shared effort, cooperation, and collaboration, it is likely that the technology will be used collaboratively, that is, it will be another medium within which those values and norms are expressed. Recognizing the significant influence of these organizational elements appears critical to groupware developers, users, and researchers.

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