Shared mental models and perceived proximity: a comparative case study

The Effect of Empathy on Team Members' Moqi in Virtual Teams: A Moderated Mediation Model

Purpose

Moqi can help team members facilitate communication without all interlocutors present, so the researchers speculate it can be an efficient communication tool for virtual teams to compensate for its lack of synchronous communication and in-person contact. However, the only study on the predictors of team members' moqi believed that shared understandings could only arise from team tasks. Based on social exchange theory, the current study emphasizes the social and emotional benefits exchanged among team members and explores moqi-making among virtual team members through a lens of relationship-building.

Methods

With a two-wave time-lagged survey design, a total of 381 team members from 86 virtual teams in China participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses.

Results

Results confirmed that virtual team members' empathy is conducive to their experiences of high-quality interpersonal relationships (HQIR) and moqi. Relationship closeness positively moderates the link between empathy and experiences of HQIR and the mediating effect.

Conclusion

This study helps unveil the significance of compassionate communication and life-giving connections in cultivating virtual team members' moqi and offers meaningful insights for facilitating virtual collaborations.

Affective temporal experiences and new work modalities: The role of Information and Communication Technologies

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, new ways of working emerged, such as fully remote to hybrid work. As the restrictions with regards to the spatial dimension of work become less rigid, the temporal dimension surfaces as one of the more important aspects of work. In this study, we draw from the Negative Theology of Time to present a more nuanced understanding of how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) influence temporal experiences and how these shape work itself. We do this by leveraging the metaphor genre, linking our observations to existing literature, and discussing chronopathic experiences, chronotelic behaviours and uses of ICTs.

Users' mental models of cross-device search under controlled and autonomous motivations

Purpose

Existing literature has elicited the external behaviors of cross-device search but not much is known about users' cognition of cross-device search. The study aims to explore how users perceive the cross-device search by combining with the mental models and how motivations affect the users' understanding of cross-device search.

Design/methodology/approach

The research questions are addressed through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 59 users. Prior to the interview, the user is asked to complete a cross-device search task designed with the simulation of controlled and autonomous motivations to gain a real experience. The concepts of mental models are coded according to the constructivist grounded theory method.

Findings

The study finds the users' mental models of cross-device search consist of four dimensions: Element, Quality, Function and Issue. The effect of motivation on the mental models is tested as significant in terms of the Quality and Function aspects. The controlled motivation affects the user's perception of how the device switch influence the search and the autonomous motivation influences the user's opinion of search system functions.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study is found to extend the existing knowledge of cross-device search and update the mental models of information search in the current multi-device environment. The findings inform the future study of cross-device search and practices of search system design.

A Confirmation Bias View on Social Media Induced Polarisation During Covid-19

Social media has played a pivotal role in polarising views on politics, climate change, and more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic. Social media induced polarisation (SMIP) poses serious challenges to society as it could enable 'digital wildfires' that can wreak havoc worldwide. While the effects of SMIP have been extensively studied, there is limited understanding of the interplay between two key components of this phenomenon: confirmation bias (reinforcing one's attitudes and beliefs) and echo chambers (i.e., hear their own voice). This paper addresses this knowledge deficit by exploring how manifestations of confirmation bias contributed to the development of 'echo chambers' at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thematic analysis of data collected from 35 participants involved in supply chain information processing forms the basis of a conceptual model of SMIP and four key cross-cutting propositions emerging from the data that have implications for research and practice.