How Virtual Meetings Matter for Community at Work
Coordination, Collaboration and Coorientation
Edward Elgar Publishing
Will be published approx. on 28. August 2026
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-1-0353-9520-0 (ISBN)
Description
This topical book explores changes in how work and workplaces are organised, specifically what happens with community building when colleagues are not meeting in person daily. The authors propose to consider this issue by focusing on communing, that is on how common ground is created and maintained, and by considering technology as an actor active in the meeting alongside the participants.
At its core, the book explores whether virtual meetings can enable the creation of common ground. By focusing on practices of coordination, collaboration and coorientation, the book demonstrates the importance of common memories, common matters of concern and common experiences in producing common ground. It does not assume that virtual meetings are deficient compared to co-located meetings, but rather considers meeting virtually to be an interesting phenomenon to study on its own terms. Chapters use empirical evidence to investigate virtual meetings and how they differ from in-person events.
How Virtual Meetings Matter for Community at Work is an essential read for academics and scholars of organisation theory, human resource management, working life studies, sociology, science and technology studies, and communication. Its focus on inclusive working practices will also prove beneficial for managers and HRM practitioners.
At its core, the book explores whether virtual meetings can enable the creation of common ground. By focusing on practices of coordination, collaboration and coorientation, the book demonstrates the importance of common memories, common matters of concern and common experiences in producing common ground. It does not assume that virtual meetings are deficient compared to co-located meetings, but rather considers meeting virtually to be an interesting phenomenon to study on its own terms. Chapters use empirical evidence to investigate virtual meetings and how they differ from in-person events.
How Virtual Meetings Matter for Community at Work is an essential read for academics and scholars of organisation theory, human resource management, working life studies, sociology, science and technology studies, and communication. Its focus on inclusive working practices will also prove beneficial for managers and HRM practitioners.
Reviews / Votes
'This book provides a fascinating, timely and distinctive exploration of how organizational meetings can be better understood as a practice of community building. The empirical settings of public and private sector organizations in Sweden provides a rich context for exploring the effects of digital interaction on meeting organization in a setting where values of trust, consensus-building and collaboration are valued. The book will be valuable to managers and leaders in the Nordics and beyond as a means of reflecting on how meetings are organized, and the purposes that they serve, as well as to researchers who are interested in better understanding how humans make meaning at work.' -- Emma Bell, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden 'I thoroughly enjoyed this concise book, which is timely given the current debates around remote work. The authors convincingly demonstrate that virtual meetings are about performing communing, rather than creating community. Far from being a simple change of words, I have found this focus on communing both highly stimulating for future research, and particularly relevant for management practitioners.' -- Viviane Sergi, ESG UQAM, Canada 'How can you build a sense of community when working remotely? This book tackles this highly topical issue in a way that is both original and insightful, through a nuanced analysis of virtual meetings and how a "common ground" is created through the constant interplay between humans and technology.' -- Erika Andersson Cederholm, Lund University, SwedenMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-9520-0 (9781035395200)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Lucia Crevani, Professor of Business Administration, Anette Hallin, Professor of Business Administration, Department of Business and Mathematics, Maelardalen University, Christoph Haug, Senior Lecturer of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Work Science, University of Gothenburg, Filip Sari-Sarraf Doctoral Candidate of Business Administration and Anna Uhlin, Associate Senior Lecturer of Industrial Economics and Organization, Department of Business and Mathematics, Maelardalen University, Sweden