A Generic Definition of Collaborative Working Environments

Abstract

Collaborative working environments (CWE) are widely recognised as representing the next step in the development of collaborative technologies over the coming decade (European Commission, 2004, 2005; Schaffers, Brodt, Pallot, & Prinz, 2006). According Isidro Laso Ballesteros of the New Working Environments unit of the European Commission, CWE is a RTD domain with the objective “to develop technologies that will allow synchronous and asynchronous real time seamless interactions between individuals who define common objectives and work actively and effectively to achieve these common goals, participating in agreed business processes.” However, the term has yet to be defined in a manner upon which a common perspective towards research and development in the field can be suitably adopted. Against that background, this article attempts to develop such a perspective on the topic by elaborating a definition rooted in widely acknowledged works on the subjects of collaboration and e-collaboration.