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ollaboration has become more important to global organizations as they handle the increasing dispersal of their activities across space, time, and organizational boundaries. How to get dispersed teams of knowledge workers and decision-makers to work together in more efficient and effective ways has driven organizational adoption and use of collaborative technologies. Collaborative systems support networks of spatially dispersed actors (either humans or not) that play different roles and cooperate to achieve common goals, which are usually non-technological goals. On the other hand, collaboration is obviously enabled by the several technological building blocks that contribute to set up a collaborative system. Traditionally, most of the efforts in the context of collaborative systems have mainly addressed technology issues, while collaboration issues have been dealt with to a very limited extent, more as a side effect of an innovative technology rather than as a driver that brings technology closer to people and organizational needs. This special issue fosters innovative research contributions addressing collaborative systems that help to create the right conditions for effective cooperation and coordination, thereby boosting factors like productivity, innovation and creativity. It will include invited papers from experts from academia, industry, and government as well as contributed papers describing original work on the current state of research in collaborative technologies, collaborative systems and all related issues. The issue aims at presenting the state-of-the-art and future of collaborative technologies and systems. Another aim is discussion of the emergence of integrated collaborative environments, as well as other issues and trends that are influencing the collaboration marketplace.

Collaboration To cater for changes in work practices, an integrated approach to collaboration is needed which includes social networking and video conferencing. “In 2011, enterprises will move from a traditional hierarchy based on command and control, to looser structures using collaboration and teamwork,” says Blowers.

If on one side ECOLEAD is important for ICT companies, on the other side it is of vital importance for the single Small Medium Enterprise: actually the global market pushes the SMEs into cooperation with other SMEs and also with big companies in the collaborative network paradigm. But collaboration requires, very frequently, a preparedness that usually is missing in actual SMEs, in fact the need for cooperation is new and not already compatible with the traditional mindset of SMEs and their patrons. Facts like insufficient preparedness of people or resources and the inability to have a quick access to monetary resources, frequently force the SMEs to do not grasp business opportunities which require the rapid establishment of a collaboration framework among them. ECOLEAD will provide a complete cooperation kit for SMEs which will speed up, enable and support the building of VOs between SMEs and thus secure the successful existence of the most important economic entity in. All this keeping in mind that SMEs might be ready to pay just for applicative services which could either cut expenses or increase revenues, not to directly pay for infrastructures and invasive ICT solutions, and keeping in mind that for sure a smooth ‘entrance’ in the VBEs is a key success factor.

Benefits and Pitfalls of Virtual R&D Teams: An Empirical Study

Envisages of New Product Developments in Small and Medium Enterprises Through Virtual Team

Innovation Process is Facilitated in Virtual Environment of R&D Teams

Virtual Teams for New Product Development: An Innovative Experience for R&D Engineers Nader Ale Ebrahim, University of Malaya - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of EngineeringShamsuddin Ahmed, University of Malaya (UM)Zahari Taha, University of Malaya (UM)