Due to increasing global demand for software applications, the fundamental question of how to develop software collaboratively and most efficiently on a global scale is raised. Today, especially managing requirements traceability from elicitation to implementation constitutes a major issue. Therefore, this work aims at managing traces between different kinds of artifacts and stakeholders more effectively and efficiently in distributed collaborative software development environments. The overall contribution involves designing a novel solution approach, including conceptual, methodological, and tool-based components. Its applicability and utility are evaluated both analytically and empirically, eventually in the form of an experimental setting with 17 replicated development teams.