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The guest‐editors of the first Special Issue on E‐Collaboration provide an introduction to the issue. E‐collaboration is broadly defined as collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task using electronic technologies. A brief history of the evolution of e‐collaboration technologies is offered along with a discussion of research in the area. The paper concludes with a brief review of the contributions to the Special Issue and a look at one important future challenge for e‐collaboration researchers, the challenge of theoretical summarization.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an intelligent infrastructure for the reconciliation of knowledge management and e‐collaboration systems.

Literature on e‐collaboration, information management, knowledge management, learning process, and intellectual capital is mobilised in order to build the conceptual framework.

This paper presents a conceptual framework including a set of concepts and guidelines that can be used to specify an efficient knowledge infrastructure for networked enterprises.

Results from this study uphold the emerging research area of knowledge management in e‐collaboration systems. The proposed framework derived purely from theory and conceptual analysis; more work needs to be done in order to validate and experiment with the framework. Future research remains be carried out to apply the framework on a broader scale, and in particular to determine its applicability relative to various collaboration patterns and current technology development.

Results from this study are important for networked enterprises, especially knowledge‐intensive enterprises, who intend to build e‐collaboration systems to organize their knowledge base and to share it with their partners.

This paper is one of the first to address collaborative knowledge management in e‐collaboration systems with a focus on the promotion of learning process and the creation of intellectual capital.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that an e‐collaboration environment, driven by awareness of social presence, may provide the just‐in‐time learning support needed by postgraduate students. The academic challenges faced by students may be alleviated if a correct electronic platform is provided for them to be able to consult with each other or their instructors, regardless of time or their locations. Thus, the paper conceptualises how awareness of social presence may help address the challenges by facilitating e‐collaboration of postgraduate students.

The interpretive paradigm was followed in the study, where a university of technology, located in the city of Pretoria, South Africa, was used as a case study. Selective sampling, specifically purposive sampling was then used to select participants. This kind of sampling is suitable for qualitative case studies and focuses on sample selection based on relevance to the context and problem.

The limited and inconsistent learning support hinders a smooth learning experience, often leading to delayed or incomplete learning tasks, including research works. The alternative for students is then to seek support from knowledgeable peers, who are often dispersed in varied geographical locations. Thus, it is important that the framework for e‐collaboration amongst postgraduate students be developed cognizant of the social presence awareness indicators that would help students to establish sense of togetherness during e‐collaboration.

Social presence and e‐collaboration literature inadequately addresses both, with respect to graduate candidates. This paper looks at how awareness of social presence and context effects e‐collaboration.

Based on the literature of IT strategic alignment and e-collaboration, the purpose of this paper is to specify how e-business strategic alignment (e-alignment) influences e-collaboration capabilities and improves firm performance, and whether the time-lag effect existed in this relationship.

The authors tested the research hypotheses using a field survey of 145 Chinese corporations. The research model was validated using SmartPLS 2.0 with both subjective and objective data collected from the survey and Oriana database.

The results support the notion of a positive and significant link between e-alignment and e-collaboration capabilities and between e-collaboration capabilities and firm performance. The authors also show that the effect of e-alignment on performance is fully mediated by e-collaboration capabilities and that e-collaboration with suppliers has a one-year time-lag effect on firm performance.

This research extends and integrates the literature on IT strategic alignment and e-collaboration, and explains why and how e-alignment generates firm performance.

This paper includes two implications for managers. First, when formulating e-business strategies, managers should focus on establishing e-collaboration capabilities with partners. Second, the downstream process is the direct sources of business value. Managers should take the establishment of e-selling process as a critical business strategy.

By focussed on intermediate factors and time-lag effects, this study provides significant implications for IT strategic alignment and e-collaboration literature.

The purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to be able to understand the technical capabilities of e‐collaboration systems from their inception to the present time and their possible future capabilities. The study examines the capabilities of 11 such systems. The article's second purpose is to be able to understand the reasons for the popularity and widespread utilization of e‐collaboration technologies by a large number of organizations.

The authors conducted literature review and also examined the technical manuals and technical features of 11 leading collaboration platforms. These collaboration tools were also used hands‐on. Selected users of these systems were also interviewed in order to find out their opinions regarding the usability and functionality of these systems.

After careful review of the literature and analyzing the technical capabilities of 11 e‐collaboration systems the finding of this study was the understanding of and the reasons for the popularity and widespread utilization of e‐collaboration technologies by a wide variety of organizations. Another finding of this study was a clear understanding of different generations of e‐collaboration technologies and the expected capabilities and features of the future generations of these systems.

This paper has significant value for practitioners and organizations that are either using e‐collaboration technologies in their day‐to‐day operations or attempting to employ these tools in order to improve productively and competitiveness and achieving organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of electronic collaboration (e-collaboration) including information sharing, resource sharing and joint knowledge creation in value creation within pharmaceutical supply chain (SC) and achieving competitive priorities for pharmaceutical companies in Jordan.

A descriptive analytical methodology was used through a comprehensive review of published and unpublished work from secondary sources of information in the areas of specific interest: e-collaboration and competitive priorities. The study was conducted at Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) (of which many pharmaceutical companies are linked electronically through JFDA workflow system). Data were collected (using paper questionnaire) from 90 electronically collaborating pharmaceutical companies and 81 complete responses were received, forming a 90 percent response rate. The analysis of collected data was performed using partial least square structure equation modeling.

The results of the analysis indicated that e-collaboration dimensions, information sharing and resource sharing, have a positive impact on competitive priorities, while joint knowledge creation was not significantly related to them. The results suggest that value creation in SC electronic systems is contingent on mutual resource synergy and joint collaboration among trading partners.

The sample size for this study does not include all pharmaceutical companies in Jordan, as this electronic linkage within the pharmaceutical companies is at its early stage. Moreover, competitive priorities examined in this research are limited to a single industry context.

This study offers a new insight into information technologies (IT)/business values that can be beneficial to IT and SC managers. By proposing the association between e-collaboration activities and competitive priorities, IT and SC managers are provided with a useful tool to link IT with collaborative activities that lead to value creation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the early studies about e-collaboration in pharmaceutical SC and competitive priorities in Jordan. As such, managers of manufacturing companies can use the outcome of this study to establish more collaborative partnerships within their SCs. This research contributes to encouraging pharmaceutical firms to focus on their export and marketing capabilities regionally and abroad which would establish a globally competitive pharmaceutical technology industry in Jordan.

It reveals that the adoption of IT alone to manage SC relationships is not sufficient to generate value. Both information- and resource-sharing activities are the core to do so .The results suggest that value creation in SC electronic systems is contingent on mutual resource synergy and joint collaboration among trading partners. The results of the analysis indicated that the dimension of e-collaboration, joint knowledge creation, was not significantly related to competitive priorities.

This study offers a contextual contribution. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the early studies about e-collaboration in pharmaceutical SC and competitive priorities in Jordan.

Building on the transaction cost theory and power structure literature, this paper aims to investigate the extent to which firms use two safeguarding mechanisms (supply chain relational investments and electronic collaboration) in different network dependency contexts in order to protect their portfolios of business relationships.

Empirical evidence is gathered though a survey data conducted with 159 firms in the wireless communication sector. The paper tests the assumption that the two safeguarding mechanisms are used to a greater extent in interdependency‐intensive networks than in other supply chain contexts.

This empirical study suggests that: in a network‐dependent context, relational investments allow firms to safeguard their portfolios of relationships; electronic collaboration seems to be a safeguarding mechanism for firms in downstream‐dependent network contexts; in general, firms appear to use both relational investments and electronic collaboration to manage their relationships in a supply chain network; and the knowledge‐based theory may explain the strong relationship between upstream and downstream use of electronic collaboration.

Overall, the present study complements the extant literature on supply chain management and inter‐firm electronic collaboration by showing how an important structural characteristic of supply chain networks (i.e. dependency) operates on the choice of using two key safeguarding mechanisms.

Results stress the importance of these safeguarding mechanisms in joint actions such as collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment.

The paper addresses interdependencies from a network perspective which encompasses the firms' complete portfolio of relationships.

Our multiparadigm software toolset (consisting of BATEV, DEBATER and CyberDELPHI software tools) enables a holistic forecasting exercise, combining some good aspects of various foresight paradigms, based on both panel activities (scenarios, recommendations, policy proposals, etc.) and a large scale e‐collaboration among wide expert base. The e‐collaboration encompasses “via‐net” Delphi survey and software mediation and facilitation, based upon intelligent group decision support paradigm. The combination of multiple paradigms supplies a firm foundation for addressing complex technology foresight problems more objectively. Following a brain‐storming process (assisted by BATEV technology repository, and DEBATER intelligent decision support system for technology assessment) in which potential future opportunities for scientific and technological advances are identified, panels engage in an extensive and collaborative consultation process, using the CyberDELPHI e‐collaboration software. The CyberDELPHI implementation is very useful in reducing the time required to evaluate the experts’ responses and also helps to encourage experts to give as much detail as possible. It has been used succesfully in the preliminary phase of a Regional Programme on Technology Foresight for Latin America, launchad by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) and ICS (International Centre for Science and High Technology).

This paper seeks to propose the examination of the importance of firms' intention to e‐collaborate in facilitating e‐collaboration for an informal alliance.

A rigorous review of the existing literature is undertaken for the purpose of developing a contingency framework that determines firm boundaries.

The conceptual framework posits that three decision contexts (the threat of opportunism, the threat of commercial failure, and the opportunity for sustainable advantage) are predictors of selecting the governance mode between e‐collaboration and arm's‐length relationship, and that an intention to e‐collaborate moderates the governance mode choice.

Testable propositions are offered to examine the proposed relationships in the framework. The paper concludes by suggesting that firms which would like to implement e‐collaboration in a group of companies must initiate and strengthen their intention to form the desired governance mode.

In this paper, we focus on the relative efficiency of different e‐collaboration tools and their impact on the performance of individual firms positioned along the supply chain. In exploratory study, the supply chain of one large telecommunications OEM was analyzed in two consecutive phases, namely a detailed case study and an electronic survey. This led to the examination of an entire supply chain from both upstream and downstream perspectives. Supply chain execution and supply chain planning e‐collaboration tools were identified and their relative efficiency was assessed. We attempt to map out the tools' potential to enhance the performance of, individual firms, in particular the link between e‐collaboration configurations and key performance dimensions.