Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Revisiting Large-Scale Disruptive Collaboration in the Age of Social Media
Azad M. Madni Ann MajchrzakViterbi School of Engineering Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California University of Southern California
2013 CSSE Annual Research ReviewUniversity of Southern California
March 14, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Outline
■ Disruptive Collaboration■ Impact of Social Media■ Transdisciplinary Collaboration ■ Complexity-Driven Tradeoffs■ Provocative Conclusions
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Large-Scale Disruptive Collaboration
■ Occurs when a large number of people work together to develop new ideas that change business models, sources of revenues, product trajectories, and technology roadmaps.
■ Invariably implies “paradigm shifts” cloud computing: from in-house IT infrastructure to “purchase by
the yard” agile development using SaaS: from in-house SW development to
outside SaaS capabilities leverage (buy SW, in-house crew provide “glue”)
■ Need more of it!
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Social Media Proliferation Affecting Nature of Collaboration■ Twitter■ LinkedIn/Facebook-like Social Media■ Chatter■ Skype Screenshare / GotoMeeting■ Kickstarter■ MetadataTagging/pinning
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Virtual/Hybrid?
Completely Virtual
Person Next Door
Entirely Hybrid
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Multiple Collaboration Platforms
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Traditional Teams No Longer Idea Sources ■ Crowdsourcing
information acquisition e.g., Goldcorp (find gold deposits by making property info public)
■ Open Innovation / Expert Sourcing Idea generation and evolution attributed to Chesbrough, UC Berkeley no longer develop ideas in-house; develop ideas collaboratively with “strangers” e.g., buy / license inventions and processes e.g., expose own inventions through licensing, spin-offs e.g., InnoCentive (global web community for open innovation)
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Social Media Provides More Opportunities for Transdisciplinary Collaboration
adapted from Madni, A.M. “Transdisciplinarity: Reaching beyond Disciplines to Find Connections,” Journal of Integrated Design and Process Science, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2007, pp. 1-11.
Intradisciplinary Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Transdisciplinary
Collaboration Scope
Among individuals within a discipline
Among individuals from different disciplines
Among disciplines through collaborators
Across and beyond disciplines without regard to disciplinary boundaries
Specific Focus Deeper understanding within a research field (e.g., quantum physics within physics)
Achieving compatibility in complex problem solving through collaboration
Creation of integrative solutions potentially resulting in mutual enrichment of disciplines
Finding hidden connections among knowledge elements from different disciplines
Key Characteristics
Generally, study same “research objects,” (e.g., multiple branches of modern physics)
Tend to have methodologies in common
Tight communications Mostly speak a common
language Add to the body of
knowledge (BOK) of a branch/ discipline
Harmonize multiple, occasionally incompatible aspects
Integration limited to linking research results
Susceptible to misunderstanding (specialized languages)
Collaborators occasionally unsure about final resolution
Development of shared concepts, methods, epistemologies for explicit information exchange and integration
Can produce an entirely new discipline
•Specialization causes knowledge fragmentation, occasionally contradictory knowledge
Challenge the norm and generate options that appear to violate convention
Look at problems from a discipline-neutral perspective
Employ themes to conduct research and build curricula
Redefine disciplinary boundaries and interfaces
Research Types
Comparison Factors
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Features of Transdisciplinary Collaboration
■ Goal is to work together to generate and evolve ideas and find creative solutions that transcend disciplinary boundaries
■ Participants come together from the very start to communicate and exchange ideas
■ Participants contribute their knowledge and expertise, but approaches and solutions are determined collectively
■ Participants DO NOT develop their own answers to a problem before collaboration
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Energizing Transdisciplinary Collaboration
■ Ask Questions that cut across Disciplinary Boundaries■ Encourage “ fluidity” and “serendipity”■ Make assumptions explicit to overcome apparent
differences■ Set constraints aside to foster creative option
generation■ Actively reach out to other disciplines to make
connections■ Introduce a new metaphor, change level of
abstraction, share a picture or graphic to enhance sense-making
■ Focus on Idea / Problem / Goal, not Disciplinary Expertise
■ Multi-layered governance
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Summary
■ Large-Scale Disruptive Collaboration is: Ubiquitous Multi-layered Complex combinations of formal and informal networks Ad hoc and Unbounded, as well as Stable and Bounded Mix of volunteerism and responsibility Mix of creativity and execution
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
New forms of Disruptive Collaboration require managing Trade-offs/Tensions
■ Trade-off #1: Privacy vs Transparency■ Trade-off #2: Squandering vs Withholding Resources■ Trade-off #3: Risk Increase vs Decrease by Going Virtual ■ Trade-off #4: Governance vs Chaos in Collective Creativity■ Trade-off #5: Stable leadership vs Temps in Governance■ Trade-off #6: Platform Design vs Need for Adaptability
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Privacy vs Transparency
■ Compromise between transparency and privacy■ Key considerations include trust, familiarity, need for
disclosure e.g., how do you determine average salary or age of a
group without explicitly having group members provide their salaries or ages?
This can be done by using secure multi-party computation approach
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Squandering vs Withholding Resources
■ Need to avoid resource imbalance■ Resources are not just monetary■ They include attention, willingness, information validation time■ Throwing more resources at a bad idea or extraneous activity
is just as bad as providing inadequate resources for a good idea or needed activity
Focus should be on what resources it takes to evolve a good idea
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Risk Increase vs Decrease by Going Virtual
■ Virtual collaboration reduces some risks while increasing others
■ People come together to innovate and collectively lower risk■ Individuals can also “shut down” when they have to perform in
front of others in the virtual environment■ Collaboratively innovating is risky for some people
Potential solutions include anonymity in specific contexts, assignment of different roles to collaborators
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Risks
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Governance vs Chaos in Collective Creativity■ Need to control flexibility while encouraging creativity■ This is a very real tension in collaboration and VOs
Focus on targeted, affordable flexibility5. Enabling Technology
1. Value Proposition or Artifact 2. Collective Wisdom
3. Governance4. Process
Layers of Participation
Goal Alignment
Distributed Leader Roles
-CollaborativeProcesses
Disruptive CollaborativeInnovation
Collaborative Technology Functionality
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Layers of Participation
Lurkers
Knowledge Contributors (“add only”)
Knowledge Minor League Editors
Knowledge Refactorers*
Site Evangelists
1
100…1,000
* “Refactoring is the process of rewriting written material to improve its readability or structure, with the explicit purpose of keeping its meaning or behavior.”
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Stable Leadership vs Temporary Governance
■ Context determines how this tradeoff is made■ Concept of leadership role is key■ Need a fluid way to go from stable core leadership to organic
volunteers temporarily performing in governance roles
Disaggregate leadership roles; allocate leadership characteristics to these roles; assign agents with specific
leadership characteristics to these roles; increase flexibility
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Platform Design vs Need for Adaptability
■ Platform standardizes development and reduces development risks
■ An over-specified platform will suffer from a lack of evolvability and may have to be discarded
■ Finding the “sweet spot” is a challenge and a high payoff research problem
Incorporate real options in platform design to exploit potential breakthroughs w/o increasing development risks
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Product Platform Generation and Evolution
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Provocative Conclusions
■ Focus on idea generation and evolution enabled by technology, people and organizations, not view each factor in isolation
■ Adopt ideas as the unit of analysis, not exclusively focus on resolution of conflicts among collaborators
■ Exploit context to rapidly evolve ideas, not impose constraints to prematurely prune them
■ Focus on collaboration behavior, not virtual organization structure■ View organizations as organisms with attributes (e.g., people, culture,
motivation) that can be exploited, not as a constraining function■ Focus on maintaining requisite variety over time, not just “success”
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
References
■ Madni, A.M. “Transdisciplinarity: Reaching Beyond Disciplines to Find Connections,” Journal of Integrated Design and Process Science, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2007, pp. 1-11.
■ Majchrzak, A., More, P.H. B., Faraj, S. Transcending Knowledge Differences in Cross-Functional Teams, Organization Science, July/August 2012, vol. 23, no. 4, 951-970
Copyright © 2013 Azad Madni and Ann Majchrzak
Thank You!