Theoretical Essay

The next assignment coming up which is related to the thesis is the theoretic piece. It is essentially an explanatory or introductory essay on the main theories in our field of interest. I found it quite frustrating to do this particular assignment as there is no general theory of collaboration which has been widely accepted and adapted.

The article What Constitutes a Theoretical Contribution, written by David A Whetten (1989), seems to be useful in providing a framework for me to structure the theoretical essay.

Whetten suggests that there are four building blocks of theory development: What, How, Why and the fourth condition, which place limitations on the propositions, 'Who, Where and When'

The what refers to the factors (variables, concepts or constructs) that are logically considered as a part of the explanation of the phenomena. Two criteria should be used to judged on the basis of comprehensiveness and parsimony.
The how refers to the relationships between the between or the patterns of the constructs of the phenomenon.
The why refers to the underlying dynamics that explain the proposed casual relationships.

Although no general theory of collaboration is well developed and the introduction of mass collaboration has brought about radical change for organisations, various studies have been conducted in many literature to try to address each of the above building block of theory development.