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Advances in collaborative technologies (e.g. videoconferencing systems with shared whiteboards) have lead to the development of a global, socially-networked and knowledge-based society ([23] Huang et al. , 2010; [26] Kleinberg, 2008). For example, collaborative technology can be used to link medical personnel across the globe in an effort to bring the best minds together to address complex medical problems and provide treatment in remote areas ([5] Breen and Matusitz, 2010). Collaborative technology has also played a role in providing online instructional delivery and cooperative learning opportunities to students unable to pursue their education in the traditional classroom setting ([40] Sharan, 2010). Despite the increasingly pervasive use of teams, team-based knowledge work has not always been associated with increased effectiveness ([12] Curseu et al. , 2008; [14] DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus, 2010; [28] Kozlowski and Ilgen, 2006). Given the pervasive use of collaborative technology in our daily lives, there is a need to gain a greater understanding about the impact of collaborative technologies on problem solving and social interactions within teams, organizations and social networks.
[14] DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010) noted that most of the research on team problem-solving has minimally examined the process of team cognition (e.g. [19] Fiore et al. , 2010) and focused more on the knowledge content accuracy and/or extent of consistent shared interpretation (e.g. [20] He et al. , 2007; [33] Meyer and Scholl, 2009; [44] van Ginkel et al. , 2009). This study addresses a call by [14] DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus (2010) for using a cognitive-behavioral analysis approach to empirically assess how collective cognition develops within teams. To date, no known study has conceptualized and tested team cognition as a multidimensional construct comprised of team learning, team reflexivity, and shared mental model using a cognitive-behavioral observation approach.
The specific research questions addressed in this study are:
RQ1. How does collaboration mode trigger and shape specific team information exchange behaviors?
RQ2. How does collaboration mode affect mental processes (e.g. team learning, team reflexivity and shared understanding) of team-based collaboration?
In what follows, section 2 presents the conceptual frameworks on collaboration mode and information processing during team-based problem solving and the hypotheses. Sections 3 and 4 describe the study's research methodology and results, respectively. Finally, section 5 discusses the study's findings, contributions, implications,...