Transcending Knowledge Gaps in Virtual Teams: Social Processes of Rapid Problem-Solving Bounded by Terminology

Virtual and distributed collaboration are increasingly important for organizations. This paper presents episodes of negotiated term definitions used to complete tasks in a voluntary, ad hoc game forum of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Episodes analyzed focus on specialized language used during problem solving. Terminology analysis reveals that players do not explicate definitions and construct shared mental models or knowledge. Instead, they transcend knowledge gaps in order to achieve action-oriented objectives. By focusing social processes on negotiated terminology for the purpose of task completion, the team rapidly meets goals.

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