Exploring collaboration in group-to-group videoconferencing

Abstract

Prior work on videoconferencing shows that various design changes can have profound impacts on group dynamics. In order to further explore the available design space, we report on a qualitative study that compares behaviour of groups in two group-to-group videoconferencing environments and face-to-face communication during a complex social dilemma game. There are pronounced differences in participant behaviour between the two videoconferencing designs, indicating higher cooperative behaviour in one of the videoconferencing conditions. Based on qualitative analysis of the gameplay, we hypothesise that the decisive factor is a discrepancy in the type of group identity that develops during the game. Our results suggest that the differences in behaviour are due to differences in design of the two videoconferencing environments. In particular, the incorporation of personal displays and individualised videostreams likely contributed to these outcomes. © Springer-Verlag London 2012.