Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems will undoubtedly play
an important role in the application of information systems in the 1990s
and beyond. The term "cooperative" is often taken for granted and it is
assumed that CSCW users are willing and able to cooperate without any
difficulty. This assumption ignores the possibility of conflict and, as
a result, the expression, management and resolution of conflict are not
supported. CSCW: Cooperation or Conflict? arose from a one-day
meeting on computer supported cooperative work which examined the role
of conflict in collaborative work. The aim of the meeting was to examine
what people actually do when they say they are cooperating, and to
assess how this affects the design of systems. The chapters of this book
are fuller accounts of the work presented during the meeting. The first
chapter presents a survey of studies of conflict in social psychology
and related fields, providing both a summary of the main findings and a
set of pointers into the literature. The subsequent chapters each
present a different view of conflict, focussing particularly on the
social and organizational settings, and the factors which lead to
conflict. The earlier chapters provide conceptual frameworks for the
study of various types of conflict, while the later chapters concentrate
on the implications for CSCW. The book is the first to examine conflict
from a CSCW perspective. It offers a unique snapshot of current research
work in this exciting field, and establishes the importance of the
issue. For the designer of CSCW systems, it offers insights into the
role of conflict, and an analysis of some of the assumptions on which
existing CSCW sytems have been based. For the student and researcher, it
provides both an introduction to the area, and a set of in-depth studies
suitable to inform future research.
