|
What do we mean by electronic collaboration and organizational synergy?
The word collaborate has its origins in the Latin word collaborare, "to work together.” Contemporary theorists and researchers consider collaboration to be a situation in which stakeholders come together to act or decide on issues of mutual interest using shared rules, norms, and structures.
The working definition for this book is: collaboration is an interactive process that engages two or more participants who work together to achieve outcomes they could not accomplish independently. Since participants typically work in an organizational context, other enabling or obstructing factors may exist. They are explored through the study of organizational synergy, which is defined for this book as: an open, integrated process (operational, procedural and cultural) that fosters collaboratio n and encourages participants to expand connections beyond typical boundaries and achieve innovative outcomes.
|
