The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration

@article{Cramton2001TheMK,
  title={The Mutual Knowledge Problem and Its Consequences for Dispersed Collaboration},
  author={Catherine Durnell Cramton},
  journal={Organization Science},
  year={2001},
  volume={12},
  pages={346-371}
}
  • C. Cramton
  • Published 1 May 2001
  • Computer Science
  • Organization Science
This paper proposes that maintaining "mutual knowledge" is a central problem of geographically dispersed collaboration and traces the consequences of failure to do so. It presents a model of these processes which is grounded in study of thirteen geographically dispersed teams. Five types of problems constituting failures of mutual knowledge are identified: failure to communicate and retain contextual information, unevenly distributed information, difficulty communicating and understanding the… 
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