A Basic Definition of E-Collaboration and its Underlying Concepts

Abstract

Electronic collaboration (e-collaboration) is operationally defined here as collaboration using electronic technologies among different individuals to accomplish a common task (Kock & D’Arcy, 2002; Kock, Davidson, Ocker, & Wazlawick, 2001). This is a broad definition that encompasses not only computer-mediated collaborative work but also collaborative work that is supported by other types of technologies that do not fit most people’s definition of a “computer.” One example of such technologies is the telephone, which is not, strictly speaking, a computer—even though some of today’s telephone devices probably have more processing power than some of the first computers back in the 1940s. Another example of technology that may enable e-collaboration is the teleconferencing suite, whose main components are cameras, televisions, and telecommunications devices.