<p>Despite the benefits of collaborative learning, students often experience undesirable issues, especially in asynchronous online courses where place and time distribute group members. While the complex nature of social dynamics of asynchronous distributed learning groups warrants a comprehensive approach, there is a lack of empirical research on a holistic design to address issues related to online collaboration. This study employed design-based research and evaluated strategies and tools to address social loafing, the difficulty of regular communication, and incompatibility of group work in three iterations of design, enactment, and evaluation in graduate online courses. Cooperative game theory, social interdependence theory, and Piaget’s socio-cognitive conflict theory informed the development of design principles for collaborative learning: (1) fairness, (2) group processing, and (3) individual accountability. Achieving a perception of fairness could be more effective than individual accountability in reducing social loafing. Equal participation brought several desirable changes to group dynamics. This study provides practitioners with evidence-based strategies to facilitate productive group culture for asynchronous online collaborative learning.</p>