For me it's based on a pretty simple feedback-loops model. The length of the feedback loops limits all sorts of important things, especially external responsiveness, adaptation, learning, and error correction. Collaboration requires co-laboring.

There are circumstances where collaboration isn't particularly necessary, of course, so maybe that's what you're looking for.

I agree of course that there are plenty of ways to have bad collaboration even with short feedback loops, as in your last example. It's not a panacea. Nothing is.