NSF grant explores successful collaboration

Professor Ajay Vinze’s work knows no boundaries or borders these days. As the associate vice provost for graduate education and associate dean for international programs at the W. P. Carey School, (see our News Update story), he travels the world looking for opportunities for ASU to partner with other institutions. Back in the office, he’s working with professors from across the campus on research. Vinze and five other ASU scholars have been awarded a three-year, $449,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to explore how decisions are made concerning natural resources. Joining the work from W. P. Carey is Ned Wellman, assistant professor of management.

The other investigators are Erik Johnston, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and co-founder of the Center for Policy Informatics; Dara Wald, a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Policy Informatics; Elizabeth Segal, a professor in the School of Social Work; and David White, co-director of the Decision Center for a Desert City. Using water policy as a context, the researchers will run experiments to explore what conditions lead to success or failure in collaborative approaches. Collaboration, Vinze explained, requires participants to set aside pure self-interest for the good of the whole – in other words, empathy.

Complicating the question is the reality that so much communication is technology-enabled through email and other applications. “Little is currently known about how to promote empathy and collaboration in the context of natural resource dilemmas, particularly in situations involving computer-mediated communication (CMC),” So, the group is designing experiments in the form of interactive games to explore: what encourages or constrains people from considering all perspectives, the impact of social power, and the willingness to cooperate — especially in circumstances where interaction is through a computer and not face to face. In the water policy context, researchers may have gamers taking the role of water managers, say, one from a small city and one from a large. How would their behaviors during policy negotiations change when their roles are reversed?

Campus-wide investigation

Vinze’s research from the early 2000’s focused on decision-making, specifically the potential for making more polarized decisions when participants do not meet face to face. In person interactions are what researchers call “media rich,” Vinze explains, that is, all senses are engaged when people are physically together, versus email, which is a “media poor” environment. Vinze brought that background to the table when he and Johnston began working together to understand how water policy decisions are made three years ago.

Johnston is interested in the role of empathy in decisions. In Vinze’s opinion, NSF was impressed with the team of scholars assembled for this project – each providing complementary expertise and orientation.  Segal, from her social work background, brings depth understanding of empathy. Wald’s area is sustainable behavior, and Wellman studies leadership, power and status. White will enable the teams to demonstrate the impact of one water decision versus another decades down the road. This type of research, Vinze explained, is not driving toward a correct answer, but rather seeks to learn more about the role of empathy in these complex decisional settings. The outcomes could include insights into processes and process management that could be useful in executive education. “We need more business faculty involved in this kind of work,” Vinze added. KnowIT will check back as the project evolves.