Organisational effects of virtual meetings: How can we gain from fewer handshakes?
(2012) In IIIEE Master thesis IMEN41 20122The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
- Abstract
- Virtual meetings and virtual collaboration technologies are applications where ICT could potentially be used to green business activities. There are, however, uncertainties and disagreements about the organisational effects of increased use of these technologies, which makes it difficult to measure and follow up on outcomes.
This thesis explores the potential effects that virtual meetings and virtual collaboration may have on an organisation. It does so by examining the presence and strength of these effects in a number of Swedish organisations, both public and private. Information has primarily been collected through literature review and a number of in-depth interviews with employees in the organisations studied. The interviewees... (More) - Virtual meetings and virtual collaboration technologies are applications where ICT could potentially be used to green business activities. There are, however, uncertainties and disagreements about the organisational effects of increased use of these technologies, which makes it difficult to measure and follow up on outcomes.
This thesis explores the potential effects that virtual meetings and virtual collaboration may have on an organisation. It does so by examining the presence and strength of these effects in a number of Swedish organisations, both public and private. Information has primarily been collected through literature review and a number of in-depth interviews with employees in the organisations studied. The interviewees selected all have substantial knowledge and experience from using virtual meetings and virtual collaboration. The results are analysed with a special focus on seeking explanations for diverging opinions among the respondents and literature. Suitable indicators for measuring selected effects are also suggested.
The findings indicate that the organisational effects of virtual meetings and collaboration depend on a number of factors. The effects are to a large extent determined by the organisation’s capability to set up and communicate goals with its virtual work methods. Moreover the impact of these meetings depends on how the organisations succeeds to support these goals with policies and training that will in turn contribute to a change in meeting and collaboration culture. Also, the effects depend on the virtual maturity of the organisation, i.e. the length and degree of use and diversity of the collaborative tools.
The author suggests a number of indicators and methods that could be used for measuring the effects of virtual meetings. The selection of indicators to measure and follow up on depends on what the organisation has set out to achieve with its virtual work methods. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3125868
- author
- Abrahamsson Lindeblad, Peter LU
- supervisor
-
- Oksana Mont LU
- Peter Arnfalk LU
- organization
- course
- IMEN41 20122
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- meeting efficiency., travelling, substitution, rebound effects, green ICT, virtual collaboration, virtual meeting
- publication/series
- IIIEE Master thesis
- report number
- 2012:31
- ISSN
- 1401-9191
- language
- English
- id
- 3125868
- date added to LUP
- 2012-10-16 17:52:57
- date last changed
- 2012-10-16 17:52:57
@misc{3125868,
abstract = {{Virtual meetings and virtual collaboration technologies are applications where ICT could potentially be used to green business activities. There are, however, uncertainties and disagreements about the organisational effects of increased use of these technologies, which makes it difficult to measure and follow up on outcomes.
This thesis explores the potential effects that virtual meetings and virtual collaboration may have on an organisation. It does so by examining the presence and strength of these effects in a number of Swedish organisations, both public and private. Information has primarily been collected through literature review and a number of in-depth interviews with employees in the organisations studied. The interviewees selected all have substantial knowledge and experience from using virtual meetings and virtual collaboration. The results are analysed with a special focus on seeking explanations for diverging opinions among the respondents and literature. Suitable indicators for measuring selected effects are also suggested.
The findings indicate that the organisational effects of virtual meetings and collaboration depend on a number of factors. The effects are to a large extent determined by the organisation’s capability to set up and communicate goals with its virtual work methods. Moreover the impact of these meetings depends on how the organisations succeeds to support these goals with policies and training that will in turn contribute to a change in meeting and collaboration culture. Also, the effects depend on the virtual maturity of the organisation, i.e. the length and degree of use and diversity of the collaborative tools.
The author suggests a number of indicators and methods that could be used for measuring the effects of virtual meetings. The selection of indicators to measure and follow up on depends on what the organisation has set out to achieve with its virtual work methods.}},
author = {{Abrahamsson Lindeblad, Peter}},
issn = {{1401-9191}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{IIIEE Master thesis}},
title = {{Organisational effects of virtual meetings: How can we gain from fewer handshakes?}},
year = {{2012}},
}