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Situated Coworker Familiarity: How Site Visits Transform Relationships Among Distributed Workers

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  • Pamela J. Hinds

    (Center for Work, Technology and Organization, Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305)

  • Catherine Durnell Cramton

    (School of Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030)

Abstract

Previous research describes significant benefits from coworker familiarity but has largely assumed proximity and that familiarity accrues simply with the passage of time. Based on a qualitative study of 164 workers on globally distributed teams, we propose that relationships transform as a result of situated coworker familiarity established when people are collocated in a shared space for an extended period of time. Site visits play a pivotal role in enabling coworkers to become more familiar with one another’s communication and work styles, capabilities and interests, personalities, work and social roles, and the cultural context in which they are embedded, thus transforming their relationships. After returning home, situated familiarity fosters behaviors reflecting closer ties, which then reinforce those bonds, suggesting that the situated nature of site visits transforms work relationships between distant coworkers in enduring ways. We contribute grounded theory about how situated coworker familiarity comes about and how coworker relationships transform as a result, particularly when workers spend most of their time apart.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela J. Hinds & Catherine Durnell Cramton, 2014. "Situated Coworker Familiarity: How Site Visits Transform Relationships Among Distributed Workers," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 794-814, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:25:y:2014:i:3:p:794-814
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2013.0869
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Christensen, Peter Holdt & Foss, Nicolai J., 2021. "Present-but-online: How mobile devices may harm purposeful co-presence in organizations (and what can be done about it)," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 84-94.
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