Collaborative Business Writing: A Burkean Perspective for Future Research

Aim/Purpose: In this study, the authors examine how an online word processing tool can be used to encourage participation among students of different language back-grounds, including English Language Learners. To be exact, the paper discusses whether student participation in anonymous collaborative writing via Google Docs can lead to more successful products in a linguistically diverse eighth-grade English Language Arts classroom. Background: English Language Learners (ELLs) make up a considerable portion of elementary and secondary public school students, as language and ethnic diversity has become the norm in the United States. The research literature finds that ELLs are statistically behind their monolingual peers on such key language and academic development indicators as writing. Educators and researchers then turn to collaborative writing with the assistance of online technology. Although it is shown in literature to be a worthwhile endeavor for students of all ages and ability levels, no studies have investigated the differences it makes, namely, in comparison to traditional face-to-face collaboration in the classroom, and to anonymous online collaboration in the virtual space. Methodology: Through face-to-face, online, and anonymous writing activities, a rubric, and a survey, this quantitative study asks if anonymous collaborative writing, com-pared to other modalities, equalizes participation among students of varying language fluencies, and if anonymous collaborative writing, compared to other modalities, affect student comfort levels. Contribution: This builds on research of online collaborative writing tools and suggests that using such tools (Google Docs in particular) is beneficial, especially for students who are building their language abilities. The study further reveals varied degree of success and student comfort level in participating writing tasks in three modalities. Findings: We ascertain that students of varying language fluencies participated more equally when they were able to remain anonymous. Face-to-face writing exhibited the highest overall scores, and students enjoyed working on Google Docs. Recommendations for Practitioners: Future and current teachers are encouraged to be open to new technologies and be creative in the use of technology to facilitate student learning. They should have the opportunity to participate in the discussion on how, not if, integrating technology impacts the cognitive, social, and cultural dimensions of teaching. Recommendation for Researchers: After this initial quantitative study on students’ reactions to various modalities of technology-supported writing formats, the next questions to ask may be how students were engaging in dialogues during face-to-face sessions or chat features of Google Docs trials, and what types of edits students are making. Researchers should turn their focus on secondary school classrooms where there is an increasing impact of technology-assisted collaborative writing on student learning and teaching pedagogy. Impact on Society: As online technology has become an integral part of daily life, it is beneficial to educators, policy makers, and classroom teachers to understand how technology can be integrated in writing programs and to what extent the integration can help boost student motivation and participation. Future Research: More longitudinal research on online assisted collaborative writing and addi-tional quantitative data are needed to further understand the complexities of the writing process in-group online writing and the nature of collaboration.

In most professional settings writing is very much a collaborative project. However, it is quite surprising that after more than a decade of selling commercial software to support collaborative writing, little software is able to maintain and facilitate human collaboration adequately. Cerrato (2003) demonstrates that a lot of the di1culties that arise when using collaborative software seem to arise from the underlying assumptions about the collaborative activity that have formed the basis in the design process of the computer-mediated collaborative writing programs. Her andings revealed that the use of collaborative writing systems encompassed a rather restricted view of collaboration in the context of creative activities such as writing. A description of these complex activities is conveniently reviewed by Lowry et al (2004). Lowry, Paul B. et al. (2004). Building a taxonomy and nomenclature of Collaborative Writing to improve Interdisciplinary Research and Practice. Journal of Business Communication, 41(1), 66–99.

Whether a mind forms in large-group writing in the workplace is the focus of this article originally given as the 1998 ABC Outstanding Researcher Lecture. This article is based on a five-year ethnographic study that describes and analyzes a three-month group writing process that created a computer service-level agreement, involving a 20-person cross-functional core more than 100 other collaborators at a major corporation. The article discusses collective in two senses: First, a document's evolving form or superstructure produced a schema that allowed the group through a process of equilibration (Piaget, 1981) to adopt outsider boilerplate into a more situated general model and then into a situated document. Second, architectural forms motivated and molded group activity in several ways. To combat group apathy, the leaders appropriated an in-demand meeting room for the project, positioning the project as high-status in the center of the workflow. Group leaders prominently displayed a task completion check-off chart that, in a downsizing environment, helped both to coordinate group activity and to encourage completion. Keywords: Collaborative Writing, Collective Mind, Cross-functional Groups, Large Group, Team Management. Trends ends in business and government affect the very nature of writing in those environments, as Tebeaux has noted (1996). One of the most widespread and genuinely altering trends, brought on by global competition, is the move in the 1980's and 1990's of U.S. companies from taskfocused to process-focused management, often through the managerial approaches of total quality management and/or reengineering. For example, the tasks involved in order fulfillment, such as taking the order, entering it into a database, checking the customer's credit, and so forth, are not in isolation valuable to the customer. Yet before process-focused management (and even today in too many cases), management focused only upon how many orders were taken, how many credit checks were conducted, and so forth, in isolation from the rest of the process. But only when these tasks are integrated do they create value (Hammer, 1996, p. 5). The continuous improvement or fundamental redesign of business processes in organizations requires much writing, first, to identify these complex processes; second, to design incremental or radical improvements; and third, to implement the changes. Because these business processes typically span many departments in a company, their documentation and adjustment or reinvention often creates the need for a large-group writing effort. Ede and Lunsford have defined group writing as writing done in collaboration with one or more persons (1990, pp. 15-16). Large-group dynamics begin when the number of group members exceeds 15-20, as Gilmore and Barnett note (1992, p. 539). Although researchers have studied many small collaborative writing groups, only two studies have focused upon any kind of large group collaborative writing (Mclsaac & Aschauer, 1990; Kleimann, 1989). Mclsaac and Aschauer discuss other important topics (e.g., writing in engineering and persuasive strategies) as much as they do large-group collaboration. Kleimann (1989) focuses upon the review of documents by large groups in the workplace. Thus no one has described in depth a collaboration in which a large group had input into the planning and/or writing that went into the first complete draft of a document. Beyond that, no study has described the training of leaders and their facilitation of concurrent collaborative subgroups working on a large document. Noting this incomplete information on large-group writing, Association of Business Communication Outstanding Researcher Janis Forman (1991, p. 247) called for more research in this area. This study begins to fill that gap. This article comes from a larger ethnographic study describing and analyzing a three-month group writing process involving a 20-person cross-functional core group and over 100 more than collaborators at Montmanche Corporation (pseudonym), a major corporation. …

Driven by the affordances and benefits of mobile technology, collaborative writing (CW) supported by mobile technologies has been increasingly implemented in the second language (L2) acquisition context. To shed light on the research foci and provide guidance for future research in this promising area, the present study conducted an in‐depth and systematic review of 25 empirical articles on CW supported by mobile technologies in the L2 context published from 2014 to 2022, including quantitative, qualitative, and mix‐methods research. A holistic analysis of these articles was conducted, covering various aspects such as research themes, research contexts and technology, theoretical/pedagogical frameworks, writing tasks, and instruments. Based on the analysis of the previous research, this study provided pedagogical suggestions concerning writing tasks, group division, participant training, and writing assessment and also explores future research directions.

The relationship between collaboration processes, task strategies and the use of the tools and resources that the computer environment offers, may be crucial for the effects of computer supported collaborative learning. We are interested to find out how, within a computer environment, students collaborate, how they use the different tools we offer and how this influences the quality of the final product. A custom-made computer-supported environment (TC3) was implemented that enables pairs of high school students to collaborate in writing an argumentative essay. The essay had to be convincing and based on authentic information sources. TC3, a groupware program, offers the students as task related and communicative tools: a shared text editor, a chat facility, access to relevent sources of information and a private notepad. Furthermore, some facilities or tools were offered that might promote collaboration on the task: access to the chat history, adaptability of the display layout, marking and searching in information sources and counting the number of words in the shared text. From our analyses we may conclude that the tools and resources the students use during collaborative writing seem to reflect the writing strategies they adhere to and that the use of these tools and resources in the different phases of the collaborative writing process is related to the argumentative quality of the final product. Future research will focus on the effects of a adding tools for text planning and linearization to the TC3 environment on the coordination processes of collaborative writing.

Collaborative writing is widely recognized for its benefits in enhancing linguistic competence, critical thinking, and social interaction in EFL contexts. Despite numerous studies highlighting these advantages, a gap remains in how collaborative writing competence can be systematically assessed and practically applied in classroom settings. This study aims to empirically validate a Collaborative Writing Competence Framework (CWCF) comprising five key dimensions: communication, coordination, creativity, responsibility, and reflection. A quantitative research design involved 103 Indonesian undergraduate EFL students enrolled in an Essay Writing course. Data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The model demonstrated a good fit (χ² = 86.528, df = 81, p = .317; CMIN/DF = 1.068; RMSEA = 0.026; CFI = 0.992), with acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.719–0.807) and convergent validity (AVE = 0.501–0.673). Creativity emerged as the most influential factor in collaborative writing competence. The validated CWCF offers actionable insights for EFL instruction: structured peer discussions, guided brainstorming, and task delegation can enhance collaboration, while integrating self- and peer-assessment fosters responsibility and reflection. Digital platforms such as Google Docs may also support real-time coordination and feedback. The CWCF thus serves as both an assessment instrument and pedagogical tool, paving the way for more effective collaborative writing practices in EFL classrooms.

Research activity is an integral component in the formation of professions. Evidence shows that business and technical communication specialists conduct research in both academic and practitioner career fields. In other disciplines, course work has been recognized as the primary means for preparing students to conduct and consume research. Yet, no publications document the status of research methods course work for U.S. students specializing in business and technical communication. This study provides a descriptive basis for assessing three areas in those courses: research methods topics, required readings, and teaching or assessment methods. An analysis of the results leads to a proposed agenda for preparing students specializing in business and technical communication for their future work roles in both academe and industry.

Although there is much literature that describes collaborative writing projects in undergraduate courses, little is reported about such projects for graduate students. This article reports the results of a collaborative writing project in a graduate course in usability testing. Because the graduate students were sophisticated practitioners in career positions in technical and professional communication, the instructor made the assumption that the normal requirements of journal checks, conferences, and self- and group-assessment tools would not be needed. The results proved otherwise. An analysis of the two teams' efforts—both product and process—establishes the need for structure and guidance for graduate collaborative writing projects, regardless of the audience's professional experience.

Chinese people have actively engaged in transnational and cross-cultural business activities in recent decades. Some Chinese people have moved their business activities to overseas countries, in particular, to developed countries. Some of them have migrated and settled down in a host space. About the case: This study aims to examine the identity work—in particular, the construction of a hybrid identity—and the business communication of a Chinese–Australian migrant, Jack, from the perspective of Chinese researchers. Situating the case: The communication characteristics of Chinese people are reviewed, and some factors related to identity work are examined. These interrelated strands provide a foundation for analyzing Jack's business communication and identity work in a host context. Research questions: (1) As an immigrant, how has Jack managed his identities in his business communication with self and Others during his life experience of more than 20 years in Australia? (2) Has Jack achieved a hybrid identity that enables him to switch his identities as he confronts the communication challenges of business situations? (3) What forces affect Jack's everyday business communication and identity work as a Chinese–Australian migrant in Australia? Methodology: Theories are applied to analyze anecdotes relating to the business communication and identity work of the migrant chosen for this case study. The first author is positioned as a cultural insider and ethnographer, observing, experiencing, and reflecting on some episodes in Jack's everyday business communication and identity work. The second author's informed input as an outsider to the case study provides interpretation of data and adds balance and a measure of objectivity. Results: Jack's communication with self and cultural Others is presented and analyzed to examine his complicated identity work in a host business arena. His shifting hybrid identity helps him to cross the border of his host culture and obtain privileges in business competition. These stories reveal that Jack's identity is continually changed and reconstructed as he builds social and cultural capital in his new business arena. Conclusions: This study captures characteristics of the transnational and cross-cultural business communication practices of Chinese migrants from the inside looking out, and it suggests that identity work is an ongoing and complex project, and that stereotypes should be avoided in transnational and cross-cultural business communication practices.

The article is devoted to the problems of teaching a foreign language of business communication in the paradigm of functional linguistics. Based on the theoretical postulates of functional synergetics, the author describes a model of functional analysis of discourse. The author notes that the semantic system of any finite utterance demonstrates systemic properties, that is, it is logically ordered, has elements (propositions, pragma-semantic, and logical-semantic relations), strives to a functional attractor, and mobilises all its means to move towards it. It also has inherent spontaneous (emergent) properties, manifested under the influence of its interaction with the environment. A communicative situation or the consciousness of communicants, interacting with this system, pushes its evolution and forwards development in a new direction. As the experiment showed, students perceive such an approach as further enhancing their speech rhetorical skills. Finally, the author clarifies how strategic speech tools participate in the formation of pragmatics of economic discourse and what properties may be useful to specialists in the field of economics and business. The results of the study may be useful to teachers and specialists in business and corporate communication.

The document has become one of the few tangible deliverables of intellectual capital in an information age. As the value of business and technical communication has grown, the importance of designing information to meet customers' needs has increased. This article explores the design option of channel choice or medium selection (delivering information in print or electronic form) and reports the results of two studies that examine customers' preferences and use of printed manuals and online help, common documents used in the computer software industry. Through the past several years, many businesses have been anxious to move documentation online to reduce costs. However, research has not adequately addressed how users react to print versus online documentation or whether this approach is cost effective over time, taking into account customer satisfaction, repeat sales, and other business issues. The first study reports the results of a survey of 400 users of a word-processing application and their preferences and use of printed and online documentation. The second study uses an ethnographic approach, contextual inquiry (CI), to examine 18 subjects' use of printed and online documentation in context Results showed that users prefer different types of documentation for different types of tasks. The implications of these findings for business communication practice and research are discussed. Keywords: Computer Software Documentation, Printed Manuals, Online Help. Contextual Inquiry Customer Satisfaction, Information Value Formal written communication within businesses takes many forms: audit reports, shareholder statements, marketing and promotional material, annual reports, technical briefs, and white papers, as well as various forms of documentation that interface with products and services. The written document, whether delivered in a printed or online medium, is often essential to a product or service's success and ultimately to an organization's success. Recent research has tried to better assess and measure the value of communication (Mead, 1998; Redish, 1995). Some research has even shown how written documents and documentation have served to ensure the financial success of products or have positively impacted customer satisfaction (Bernhardt & McCulley, 2000; Smart, Madrigal, & Seawright, 1996; Smudde, 1995). In many instances, written documents are one of the few tangible deliverables of intellectual capital and knowledge work within organizations (Stewart, 1997). Assessing the value of documentation and other forms of communication helps managers and decision makers determine the appropriate allocation of assets and make strategic decisions that affect customer satisfaction. This strategic importance of information is underscored by an increased interest in the topic among business communicators, as reflected in a recent issue of The Journal of Business Communication (July 2000) focusing on the strategic value of communication, and by increased research and general interest in such topics as knowledge management (Davenport & Prusak, 1998; Szulanski, 1996). But the integral value of communication assumes its effective design and delivery, a design that genuinely meets the needs of an intended audience. As the importance of communication in business settings increases, the need for user-centered design also increases. Although ample advice and folk wisdom abound for effectively designing everything from business letters and reports to Web pages, little empirical evidenc e exists to help business communicators, information designers, and managers make strategic decisions about communication design. For example, a fundamental design choice of professional communicators involves the delivery medium of the message. The channel choice or medium-delivery option is crucial to the effective conveyance of messages, for as Locker (2000) observes, depending on the audience, . …

This research aims to partially and simultaneously explain the influence of price discounts and business communication on customer loyalty in purchasing Tofu Sticks at the Aqia Kediri Store. This type of research uses quantitative research. Data sources use primary data and secondary data. The sample in the research was 87 customers who purchased Toko Aqia Kediri's Tofu Stick using purposive sampling technique. The analysis techniques used are validity test, reliability test, normality test, linearity test, multicollinearity test, heteroscedasticity test, t test, F test, multiple linear regression analysis, t test, F test and coefficient of determination (R2) test using the SPSS program version 25. The results of this research are that partially the price discount variables and business communication have a positive and significant effect on customer loyalty in buying tofu sticks at the Aqia Kediri Store. Simultaneously, the variables of price discounts and business communication have a significant effect on customer loyalty in purchasing tofu sticks at the Aqia Kediri Store.

Mixed methods research (the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods within a single study) has developed rapidly in the last few years. This methodological approach is becoming increasingly articulated, attached to research practice and recognized, along with qualitative research and quantitative research, as the third major research approach (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007).The scientific fields with more tradition in using and developing mixed methods research are Education, Sociology, Psychology and Health Sciences. This methodological approach is championed by methodologists from these fields such as John Creswell, Abbas Tashakkori, Burke Johnson, Anthony Onwuegbuzie, Jennifer Greene, Charles Teddlie and David Morgan (Denscombe, 2008). Books specifically focused on mixed methods research are being published in these fields (Andrew & Halcomb, 2009; Bergman, 2008; Brewer & Hunter, 2006; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007, 2011; Greene, 2007; Morse & Niehaus, 2009; Niglas, 2004; Ridenour & Newman, 2008; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003, 2010; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009).In January 2007 the first issue of a journal solely devoted to mixed methods research (Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Sage Publications) was published. The two founding co-editors, John Creswell and Abbas Tashakkori, are researchers in the field of Education. Other methodological journals that publish mixed methods studies include this journal (International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, also launched in 2007), along with Quality and Quantity, Field Methods and the International Journal of Social Research Methodology. Empirical articles that employ a mixed methods approach using this distinct name in the title are also published in Education, Sociology, Psychology and Health Sciences, and literature reviews that analyze the prevalence and application of mixed methods are carried out. An annual conference devoted to mixed methods is organized by schools and researchers from these fields (in 2011 the 7th International Mixed Methods Conference was hosted by the School of Healthcare in the University of Leeds, UK). Moreover, a Special Interest Group on Mixed Methods Research was formed in the American Educational Research Association in 2005. In summary, as noted by Creswell and Plano Clark (2007), mixed methods research has only been carefully used and examined in a handful of disciplines.In the case of Business and Management, our fields of inquiry have not embraced this methodological approach as enthusiastically as the fields described. Although there are calls for using mixed methods research in Business and Management fields (Cameron, 2011, Currall & Towler, 2003; Jick, 1979; Molina-Azorin, 2007), the acceptance and attention devoted to mixed methods research is very low in relation to other fields. There is not any specific book on mixed methods research in Business and Management. To date and to the best knowledge of the two special issue editors, a special issue on mixed methods has not yet been published in any Business and Management journal. Moreover, Creswell and Tashakkori (2007) make the pertinent point that the literature base about mixed methods research may not be well known to individuals in specific fields. Cameron and Molina-Azorin (2011) and Molina-Azorin (2011) confirm this issue in the case of Business and Management studies.In addition, in contrast to studies in the fields of Education, Sociology, Psychology and Health Sciences, the term 'mixed methods' is not usually used in the title of mixed methods studies in Business and Management. Furthermore, in the journal Organizational Research Methods, the main methodological journal in our field, the term 'mixed methods' is not a listed keyword. This issue also occurs in other business and management discipline journals.On the basis of such broad scanning evidence it seems likely that the advantages, possibilities, purposes, designs and potential of mixed methods research may be yet still unknown to many researchers in Business and Management. …

In popular culture, the stereotypically iconized “geek” can be identified in different media narratives from mainstream television to magazines. Drawing upon insights from sociolinguistics and business communication studies, this paper attempts to identify the discursive constructs of “being geek” in Chinese digital business communication. By collecting the discourse data of online customer reviews from amazon.cn and analyzing the data based on the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study investigates how linguistic mechanisms operate in the shaping of geek culture and the construction of “being geek” in the participatory communication of business. The results revealed lexical variables and generic intertextuality are prominent in the discourse construction of “being geek”, to create a stimulus for a promotional culture in business communication.

The business world has been revolutionized by the digital age. It has left the traditional methods of communication – like memos and face-to-face meetings – in favour of digital platforms that make it possible for people to connect through instant messaging or video conferencing. This shift is an indication of a monumental change that is taking place among organizations in how they carry out their operations, collaborate among themselves and even deal with stakeholders – all made possible because technology has found its way into every corner of economy, facilitating a quick, efficient, and increasingly complex communication. To attain supplementary knowledge concerning the perspective of research over the consequences that digital communications exert on organisations, an in-depth analysis of specialty literature was conducted. By employing this approach, we can better trace the advancements obtained by various researchers when stablishing these suppositions, on one hand, while on the other hand we can better understand the procedures in this field, that highlight the areas that require further study. The research shows that the emergence of digital platforms calls for more robust approaches in cybersecurity and ushers a need for organizations to develop a strong capacity of digital literacy among their employees. The work enriches the scientific world by combining a large amount of bibliometric data, through which it visualizes the changes in various historical periods and predicts future trends. It emphasizes that business needs to continuously adapt to changes if they are to survive competition in a market where most aspects are dominated by digital technology – this paper acts as both scholarly work and practical guide for professionals seeking insight into digital business communication landscapes that help them navigate through ease.