The Relationship Between e-Collaboration and Cognition

Recent research has proposed that groupware performance may be strongly affected by the fit between the task and the groupware structures selected for use. We suggest that the link is deeper; there needs to be a fit between the task and the group's cognitive structures as mapped to the groupware structures. In this paper, we address this shortcoming by integrating recent theories of cognition (distributed cognition, transactive memory, and template theory) from the perspective of electronic collaboration. We refine the concept of cognitive fit as applied to group work and offer propositions for further study. We suggest that template core data is used during situation assessment and that slot data refines response selection. Finally, we propose several techniques by which the group cognitive effort can be minimized, thereby leaving more capacity for the collective task. This approach is especially applicable to naturalistic group decision situations.