Shared cognition constructs such as shared understanding and cross-understanding are important factors in team performance. Although research has focused on understanding the effects of these constructs, little emphasis has been placed on improving their development. In Information Systems and related fields shared understanding of a domain is said to be facilitated by the use of a domain ontology, however there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. Accordingly, in this research-in-progress paper, we report our efforts to develop a deep understanding of the benefits of domain ontology use at the group level. Specifically, we propose a model that theorizes the relationships between domain ontology use and the development of shared understanding and cross-understanding of domains. Additionally, we provide details of operationalization and empirical validation of our model, and the current state of this research.
['Henry N. Roa', 'Marta Indulska', 'Shazia Wasim Sadiq']
Effectiveness of domain ontologies to facilitate shared understanding and cross understanding