Blogs from Boston: Virtual Trust (Part 2)

Continuing the series from last time (PART 1), our CIO now moves to explaining how trust is built online in MMORPGs: 

Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (or MMORPGs, here on in referred to as ‘online games’) have received a great deal of negative press, with reports of teenagers and adults alike either metaphorically or literally ‘losing’ their lives to these all-consuming games. And these creations, such as World of Warcraft, which boasts 11.5million players in over 30 different countries, are a steadfast global phenomenon.

The question is, are online games useful for business? Yes they are.

IBM’s 2008 study of online games revealed their success to be linked to the Four Capabilities model.

1.       Sense-making: Games are designed so that one’s strengths and weaknesses are clear to all users, allowing groups to be formed rapidly and implemented effectively. Leadership is a dynamic concept; leaders are chosen by project, allowing a variety of users with different skills and abilities the opportunity to lead. This means current leaders are required rapidly understand the situation at hand...

2.       Relating: ...and have great social skills...

3.       Visioning: ... and to be able to create a compelling vision for others to follow, so that the team works as a cohesive whole towards a common goal.

4.       Inventing: In the virtual world, while failure pains many a player, the fluidity of leadership means that it matters far less than in the real world, where a failure can become a permanent black mark on one’s record. Consequently players take risks, often resulting in fast and innovative results.

Since the aim of the game is to build up one’s skill set, players form these temporary teams, choosing to trust and work with others based on their experiences. This is known as swift trust, as team members have no time to build relationships, but are required to bond swiftly in order to secure both individual and team success. This means players can successfully work in cross-cultural and cross-generational teams, as cultural norms and values, which can cause misunderstandings and raise transaction costs in the real world, are temporarily subverted by the requirements of the team.

An example of swift trust in action is Google Wave, a tool which enables real-time online collaboration on a project, where individuals from all over the world can begin working together immediately. The different communication options, such as instant messaging and email allow team members to bond on their own terms, and the openness and transparency of the communications technology enables innovation to take place.

.../ next time: PART III: A Switched on Global Culture