Learning from notes: Organizational issues in groupware implementation

Abstract

This paper explores the introduction of a group‐ware technology—Lotus Corporation's Notes®—into one office of a large organization and attempts to understand the changes in work practices and social interaction facilitated by the technology. The results reveal that a number of organizational elements, such as mental models (which affect how people understand and appropriate groupware) and structural properties (reward systems and workplace norms), significantly influence how group‐ware technology is implemented and used. Specifically, the findings suggest that in the absence of mental models that appreciate the collaborative nature of groupware, such technologies will be interpreted in terms of more familiar personal and stand‐alone technologies, such as spreadsheets. Further, in competitive and individualistic organizational cultures—where there are few incentives or norms for cooperating or sharing expertise—groupware on its own is unlikely to engender collaboration. Such products will be interpreted as countercultural, and to the extent that they are used, they will promote individual, not group aims. Recognizing the significant influence of these organizational elements appears critical to both researchers and practitioners of groupware technologies.