ABSTRACT
The development of networked computing and the globalization of industry have dramatically increased the importance of what is called computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). The Web has made geographically distributed collaborative systems feasible in a manner that was previously impossible [Deek and McHugh, 2003]. This chapter surveys various factors that affect collaboration, with an emphasis on the media characteristics of distributed computer systems, process management techniques, the information processing characteristics of groups, and the impact of organizational context on the use of collaborative systems.
