EUR/RSM Master Thesis Research Proposal

Applying the concepts of Online Collaboration and Virtual Teams to delivering a Research Project through an online platform1

EUR/RSM Master Thesis Research Proposal

“Applying the concepts of Online Collaboration and Virtual Teams to delivering a Research Project through an online platform”

Steven L.J. Twigge

193959

Business Administration Faculty: Management of Innovation

University Coach: Prof. Dr. Ing. T.W. Hardjono

University Co-Reader:Dr. P.C. van Fenema

(Information Management Faculty)

Rotterdam, 11th March 2004, Version 0.91

Steven L.J. Twigge, 193959

Applying the concepts of Online Collaboration and Virtual Teams to delivering a Research Project through an online platform1

RSM Requirements for the Research Proposal

Thesis Proposal Requirements according to RSM Master Thesis Manual

A description of the field to which the subject relates

Problem Formulation or Research Question

The relevancy of (answers to) the research question

An indication of the theoretical approach

Research Methodology & Techniques

Timetable

Provisional Reading List

Research Context

Virtual Teams

Online Collaboration

Context Cases

Application to Research Project

Research Perspective

Research Perspective

Research Framework

Preliminary Study

Research Issue

Research Questions

Research Resources

Timeline

Methodology

Expert Interviews

Platform Experiment

Online Questionnaire

Live Meeting

Research Process - Tasks & Responsibilities

Process Visual

Project Context

Preliminary Study

Historical Roots

Competences & Interests

Further Issues

Research Visual

Definition of Concepts

Research Project

Virtual Team

Team Dynamics

Online Collaboration

Online Platform

Resources

Provisional Chapter Format

Part 1: Context and Approach

Part 2: Theoretical and Practical Research

Part 3: Research Results

RSM Requirements for the Research Proposal

Thesis Proposal Requirements according to RSM Master Thesis Manual

This proposal has been divided into two sections;first, a short overview of the requirements as stated in the RSM Master Thesis manual. This is then followed by a more extensive and detailed structure following Verschuren & Doorewaard (V&D, 1999), The V&D-structure has been chosen as the primary research structure.

A description of the field to which the subject relates

This research project focuses on delivering a master's thesis through an online platform. Online collaboration and virtual teams are the main topics within this research project.

Problem Formulation or Research Question

There is little evidence of application of the findings on research into introducing the concepts of a virtual research team and online collaboration into the process of delivering a knowledge rich product, such as a RSM Master's Thesis, through an online platform.

This research project aims to look into this area and to produce insight into the process of using an online collaboration platform for delivering a research project..

The Research Questions can be found in the following section “The Research Issue”.

The relevancy of (answers to) the research question

General: The knowledge produced by answering the research questions and fulfilling the research objective will contribute to the academic world and to practioners with an interest in virtual teams and online collaboration. The academic world will particularly benefit in a practical sense from a possibility to enable effective communication and coordination between professor and student during the delivery of a research project.

Particular: This research will be of value to the participants and surrounding context by contributing to the existing knowledge base and giving insight into current development in online collaboration and virtual teams. The research institute (EUR) benefits exactly in this manner. The persons involved (University & Private Readers) enjoy an injection of knowledge when actively participating in the process of writing and delivery. The author benefits from the experience of completing a considerable research effort and building an extensive knowledge specialisation, of which only a smaller part is represented in the research paper.

An indication of the theoretical approach

Based on research into Virtual Teams and Online Collaboration, i.e. Jarvenpaa (1999) and Maznevski (2000), and Adaptive Structuration Theory (Desanctis & Poole, 1994) a framework will be created by which the Online Collaboration Platform used for this project will be assessed for functionality and team support.

Topics such as High Performance Teams, Skunk Works and Group Dynamics will be included in the development of the frame work

Research Methodology & Techniques

This research will include the following research concepts:

- Desk Research: to find the relevant and applicable theory

- Expert Interviews & Discussions

- Experiment (Developing the Online Collaboration Platform (OCP))

- Online Questionnaire: posted to field professionals

Timetable

- Desk Research / (till 13 March)
- Expert Interviews & Discussion / (till 20 March)
- Platform Experiment / (till 27 March)
- Online Questionnaire / (till 20 March)
- Live Meeting with Research Team / 23 March

Provisional Reading List

Please refer to the Resources section.

Research Context

The Business Administration course at Erasmus University Rotterdamprovides many opportunities, some obligatory, some elective to work with fellow students in a case-orientated manner. An international exchange enhances the collaboration experience by adding a deeper cross-cultural dimension. Company internships provide introductory experience in organisational application of a project effort.

The 2002 Management of Innovation major provides toolbox skills in project based management, quality control and innovation management theories. Combined with a student's skills and experience this graduate package creates a good foundation for innovation execution and implementation.

Virtual Teams

Case based education is used as a method of knowledge transfer between professor, theory and student. These cases involve a lot of group work which aim to give students experience in collaborating as a group and combining cross discipline approaches. As the students communicate face-to-face and through Blackboard, (web-based) email and by telephone, they fit the profile of an effective virtual team (Maznevski, 2000). Effective virtual teams combine regular, intense face-to-face meetings with less intensive, shorter interaction incidents using various media into a structured and temporal rhythm.

Online Collaboration

Since the beginning of the author's study of business administration, internet technology has experienced an incredible pace of development. Not only students, but a great part of the earth's population, have embraced concepts such as email, online shopping and internet banking to become important elements of their lives. For students, an internet-based application such as Blackboard, is an important means for communication and information distribution.

Collaborating through the web offers advantages such as cost savings, faster development and robust team organisation. These advantages are offset by costs and risks following from i.e. a misfit in team configuration or technology infrastructure. It forms an organisational challenge to balance these factors and reap the benefits. For students, web-based collaboration can offer advantages in better project co-ordination and increased communication between student and professor.

Context Cases

Input management and effort registration benefit from making interaction processes more transparent and predictable. Interactions become more transparent when the function is matched by form and medium. For example, a complex discussion is best dealt with by a face-to-face interaction, whereas simpler information exchange can be dealt with by email or publishing to a team-accessible webpage. Predictability is induced by agreeing on communication protocols and deadlines. Discipline (Meerbeek, 2001) and rhythm (Maznevski, 2000) help a virtual team. This goes a long way in dealing with the 'free-rider' syndrome encountered frequently by many students interacting on a case assignment.

Not only in education, but certainly in a corporate environment, teams can benefit from better communication and co-ordination. Examples are:

-(Case 1, 2003): a project team that could not get past their own boss with a business proposal, because their idea did not fit departmental guidelines on presentation and communication.

-(Case 2, 2004): a project member that proposed and built a prototype communication platform, but was then starved for content by his own project team.

-(Case 3, 2004): a project that was ready to handover and implement a new product into the organisation, but after 6 months still did not know which quantities where necessary for individual departments due to lack of internal communication.

Application to Research Project

For this research project, the aim is to deliver a research paper according to the institute's standards (RSM, 2003) through collaborating through an online platform. Collaboration will occur between the author, university coaches and private coaches. Input will also be generated by external specialists and an online questionnaire. The final result will be delivered through the platform to the institution and the examiners.

Research Perspective

The aim of this research is to develop a 'proof of concept' to gain experience and insight into developing an online collaboration platform. The platform will be aimed at delivering a master's thesis to the standards of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

The object of research will be the successful interaction of the author, two university coaches, two private co-readers and possible third parties and delivery of the thesis through an online platform. An important aspect is the research of team dependant required platform functionality.

The research will follow the lines as set out by Verschuren & Doorewaard (1999) in their Intervention Cycle of a "Design" and "Intervene" natured research. This coincides with a double-option choice from two theory orientated and five practice orientated research models, both options being focused on practical research rather than theory. A design-model (DM) sets out to follow an applicable model to design a solution for a certain situation. A intervention-orientated model (IM) follows the above by focusing on executing through a process and a substantiated checklist. A detailed implementation plan should be the result of the research effort.

Research Framework

Drawing upon literature study, case examples and author experience, the aim is to arrive at a proof of concept of an online platform for knowledge-rich and collaboration dependant service delivery. This is done by studying past researches and developing relevant and appropriate functions for an online platform.

Several resources will be researched to develop an integrated framework for team dynamics, application development and project management. An online collaboration platform will then be developed to gain a proof-of-concept perspective. Then the platform will be assessed for its relevance for defining team dependant functionality for online collaboration platforms.

Preliminary Study

To develop the research perspective, relevant theoretical frameworks and documentation were studied.Current experts in the field of study and relevant expertise have been consulted. This will arrive at a setup for implementation of the research project.

Research Issue

Research Questions

Central Question

Which benefits are feasible when applying the concepts of Virtual Teams and Online Collaboration to delivering an RSM Thesis through an online platform?

Sub-Questions

Which underlying processes and types of Virtual Teams and Online Collaboration apply to this research project?

Which team-dependant functionality can be developed on the basis of this research?

Which group dynamics can be tracked and managed through an Online Collaboration Platform?

Research Resources

This research will be based on:

- Desk Research

- Expert Interviews & Discussions

- Experiment (Developing the Online Collaboration Platform (OCP))

- Online Questionnaire: posted to field professionals

Timeline

Methodology
Desk Research (Literature Research)

This part of the research project will focus on processing relevant literature and creating an inventory of other resources and methods. The insights will be used to create a framework for understanding the developments in the practical research section of this project.

Topic List:

Adaptive Structuration Theory, Application Development, Community Theory, Communication Theory, Conferencing, Decision Making Theory, Document Management, E-Learning (Training, Development and Distant Learning), Heavyweight Development Teams, High Performance Teams, Knowledge Management, Online Collaboration, Platform & Modularity Theory, Portal, Project Coordination, Project Management, Service Orientated Architecture, Skunk Works, Team Building, Team Dynamics, Team Maturity, Team Roles, Virtual Teams, Workflow Management.

Expert Interviews

These interviews will be held to create a notion of research specific accents to be placed upon general findings from the desk research. This section will also contain a team assessment of relevant team characteristics.

Platform Experiment

This section beholds the practical development of an Online Collaboration Platform for the research project. Insights from the previous sections will lead to certain functionalities to be developed and offered through an Internet webapplication.

Online Questionnaire

This questionnaire will be used to generate a foundation for assessing the level of generalisation of the research's findings to a broader field of professionals. The sample group will be extracted from members of the related discussion group and possibly people from the iCohere.com online conference (29-31 March 2005).

Live Meeting

This meeting will follow the recommended approach by Maznevski (2000), to maintain a punctuated pattern of less intensive, short interaction incidents with deeper intensity face-to-face meetings.

Research Process - Tasks & Responsibilities

Results from the preliminary study for developing a research perspective for Online Collaboration and Virtual Teams lead to application to the research project team. The research is conducted within a knowledge rich environment and based upon interactive production of a research paper. The objective is to gain experience in developing an online collaboration platform and insight into Virtual Research Team Dynamics. The product of this research effort is to produce a research report according to EUR/RSM Master Thesis Standards. The Research Team exists of 5 persons. Generally, there are a researcher, a university coach and a university co-reader. For this project two private co-readers have been added to enhance the collaboration experience.

A final person is added after the research paper is delivered to the EUR Central Examination Bureau. This person is to check the Research Team for the validity of their scientific process and findings in the research paper.

The Researcher conducts his research, based upon the problem definition and research questions, with identified research resources. He processes his research and notifies his team members about progress (content delivery) and findings. The validation team responds to the notification by processing the material delivered to the online collaboration platform. The researcher receives the notification and processes the validation team’s feedback into his research efforts. The collaboration cycle then finds a new impulse for continuing and strengthening the research effort. The researcher continues the research and the validation team guards the project progress based on their own knowledge and applicable guidelines.

Process Visual

Project Context

Preliminary Study

Initial research reveals topics as Virtual Teams, Virtual Offices, Online Collaboration, E-Learning and Knowledge Management as relevant concepts in available management theory. It is the authors opinion and research aim to find that various separate systems for project process control, document sharing and editing, (instant) communication, groupware etc. exist, but that there is little available that offers an integrative platform for an innovation execution team. Despite specific technological advances in areas as mobile telecommunication and e-mail applications, an innovation team is not offered an integrative approach for responding effectively to group progress and dynamics.

Historical Roots

Business Administration at EUR is a broad study and offers several specialisations. The author has chosen for Management of Innovation as his specialisation and also participated in the CEMS-programme for International Management. The MI-Major curriculum provides a good foundation for this research project. It is expected that certain aspects may traverse into the area of Information Management. This is where P.C. van Fenema provides a good guard to keeping the research project within the appropriate bounds. T.W. Hardjono has the supervising role for guarding conceptual and high level content.

The author and Hardjono have interacted before through the major course on Quality Management and on a curriculum element similar to the Bachelor's Thesis (leeronderzoek) on the Royal Netherlands Navy Landing Platform Dock. F. van Koppenhagen and R. Hartman are close relatives to the author and have expressed enthusiasm for contributing to this project. P.C. van Fenema is the newest member to this group in terms of earlier interaction prior to this research project.

Competences & Interests

The author has passed all theoretical courses and subjects at a satisfactory level. This theoretical knowledge has been complemented by good social skills, extreme creative skills and a passion for presentation. It is in the author’s best interest to further enhance these skills with analytical and precise capabilities. This research project as such, but also creating and maintaining an operational online platform to facilitate the research project are good opportunities. The author has taken various additional courses in "programming for the web" for this purpose. It is the final ambition to obtain an "8" grade in order to rise above the achieved overall average grading.

Further Issues

Budget: There is no specific budget allocated for this research project, therefore all costs will need to be carried by the author.

Timeline: Due to finding a job position per 1 April, it is essential that all research work and major processing is done before that date. Any administrative proceedings will be dealt will after that date.

Institute Requirements: can be found in the RSM Master Thesis Manual. These have been reinforced by a personal research schema provided by Dr. van Fenema and the Research Design book by Verschuren & Doorewaard.

Cultural, Political & Social: As all participants are assumed to be reasonable thinking human beings with a considerable level of intelligence, all conflicts are expected to be dealt with in an adult fashion and 'gentleman's understandings'. Achieving deadlines is the sole responsibility of the author.