Building and Maintaining Trust in Virtual Teams

2021 ◽  
pp. 264-285
Author(s):  
Colin Hughes ◽  
Mark N. K. Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Virtual Leadership ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Virtual Leader

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread adoption of virtual teams (VTs), the prevalence of which had already been increasing steadily. However, studies show that VTs often fail to meet their potential, highlighting the centrality of trust to their success. While trust is important at the team member level and the focus of much of the extant research, it also underpins effective virtual leadership. Following a review of VT and trust literatures, research conducted within three global technology companies across Europe, Middle East, and Africa is used to provide insights into trust development in virtual leader-member dyads. These highlight leaders' behaviours that can both demonstrate their own trustworthiness to VT members and their trust of VT members. These behaviours are integrated into a framework for enabling high trust VT leadership which emphasises member-centricity.

Re-Examining Trust Development and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 82-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Jin Son ◽  
Eun Jee Kim
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Global Companies ◽  
Stage Process

It is crucial to effectively identify and leverage organizational team member knowledge. As virtual teams are becoming increasingly common in global companies, knowledge sharing in virtual teams is gaining attention among practitioners and scholars. In particular, the role of trust in effective knowledge sharing has been emphasized among scholars. However, there have been few attempts to integrate trust and knowledge sharing behaviors in virtual teams. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to present the integrative perspective of knowledge sharing and trust in virtual teams. The authors thoroughly explore the existing literature on different approaches to trust and the knowledge sharing process and then introduce an integrative three-stage process model of trust and knowledge sharing in virtual teams.

The Virtual Leader

2016 ◽  
pp. 64-77
Author(s):  
Andrew Seely
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Leadership ◽  
Leadership Challenges ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Management Leadership ◽  
Distributed Team ◽  
Virtual Management ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Virtual Leader ◽  
Tools And Techniques

This chapter offers a working definition of the concepts of virtual, management, leadership, and team, and proposes pragmatic tools and solutions to management and leadership challenges in virtual, distributed team situations. Practical experiences are surveyed, including scenarios of remote team, remote team member, distributed learning, and traveling manager. Descriptions of tools and techniques are offered, along with a set of guiding concepts and principles to apply to any virtual leadership situation.

Compliance within virtual teams

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphna Shwartz-Asher
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Traditional Definition ◽  
Team Task ◽  
Definition Of

In light of the growing phenomenon of virtual teams as a new concept within the Human Resources Management (HRM) world, the traditional definition of team member 'compliance' should be redefined. In order to measure the influence of the virtuality level on the team member’s reaction to instructions, an experiment was designed, in which a team task with a set of instructions was given to 150 subjects who participated in virtual or non-virtual task solving' meetings. This study’s main finding indicates that while the structured virtual team members complied with the directive to divide the labor between them and to appoint a chairperson, the structured non-virtual team members did not comply. It seems that pertaining to the task of appointing a chairperson, as for the division of labor, the use of the “formality” variable may explain the compliance of the structured virtual team members as opposed to the lack of compliance among members of the structured non-virtual team members. This research contributes to a better understanding of virtual team HRM strategies in the hope of improving the teams’ compliance and management within today’s virtual world.

Paradoxical Virtual Leadership: Reconsidering Virtuality Through a Paradox Lens

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 752-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radostina K. Purvanova ◽  
Renata Kenda
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Leadership ◽  
Leadership Model ◽  
Cognitive Framework ◽  
Core Function ◽  
Paradox Theory ◽  
Practical Implications

This conceptual article moves the conversation about virtual leadership forward by blending extant knowledge on virtuality and on leadership. Drawing on paradox theory, we show that virtuality is a paradox; therefore, virtual leadership’s core function is to deal with paradox. Our paradoxical virtual leadership model introduces three distinct leadership styles: synergistic, selective, and stagnant. Synergistic leaders view virtuality through a both–and cognitive framework, integrate divergent forces into synergistic solutions, and engage in varied, even opposing, behaviors to synergize virtuality’s paradoxical tensions and leverage the power of paradox. In contrast, selective leaders view virtuality through an either–or framework, and attempt to either manage virtuality’s challenges, or to capitalize on its opportunities, thus failing to balance paradoxical tensions. Finally, stagnant leaders adopt an avoidant framework, ignoring or avoiding virtuality’s paradoxes, and fail to lead effective virtual teams. The practical implications of this model—especially as they relate to how virtual leaders can synergize paradoxical tensions—are discussed.

scholarly journals Trust in Virtual Teams: A Multidisciplinary Review and Integration

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Viol Hacker ◽  
Michael Johnson ◽  
Carol Saunders ◽  
Amanda L. Thayer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Integrated Model ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Extant Literature ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Team Trust ◽  
Insight Into

Organizations have increasingly turned to the use of virtual teams (VTs) to tackle the complex nature of today’s organizational issues. To address these practical needs, VTs researchers from different disciplines have begun to amass a large literature. However, the changing workplace that is becoming so reliant on VTs comes with its own set of management challenges, which are not sufficiently addressed by current research on VTs. Paradoxically, despite the challenges associated with technology in terms of its disruption to trust development in VTs, trust is one of the most promising solutions for overcoming myriad problems. Though the extant literature includes an abundance of studies on trust in VTs, a comprehensive multidisciplinary review and synthesis is lacking. Addressing this gap, we present a systematic theoretical review of 124 articles from the disparate, multidisciplinary literature on trust in VTs. We use the review to develop an integrated model of trust in VTs. Based on our review, we provide theoretical insights into the relationship between virtuality and team trust, and highlight several critical suggestions for moving this literature forward to meet the needs of workplaces of the future, namely: better insight into how trust evolves alongside the team’s evolution, clarity about how to adequately conceptualize and operationalize virtuality, and greater understanding about how trust might develop differently across diverse types of virtual contexts with various technology usages. We conclude with guidelines for managing VTs in the future workplace, which is increasingly driven and affected by changing technologies, and highlight important trends to consider.

scholarly journals Functional and Visionary Leadership in Self-Managing Virtual Teams

2020 ◽  
pp. 105960112095503
Author(s):  
U. Yeliz Eseryel ◽  
Kevin Crowston ◽  
Robert Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Member ◽  
Visionary Leadership ◽  
Shared Mental Models ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Shared Goals ◽  
Shared Norms ◽  
Functional Leadership

In this conceptual article, we present a theory of leadership in self-managing virtual teams. We describe leadership in this setting as a process that results in the creation, reinforcement, and evolution of shared mental models and shared norms that influence team member behavior toward the successful accomplishment of shared goals. We distinguish two types of leadership. We identify leadership that works within and reinforces existing models and norms to influence team contributions as “functional” leadership. We identify leadership that results in changes in models and norms as “visionary” leadership. We propose that successful self-managing virtual teams require both types of leadership and that they will exhibit a paradoxical combination of shared, distributed functional leadership complemented by strong, concentrated, and centralized visionary leadership and that visionary leadership is enabled by functional leadership in the form of substantive team member contributions.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Decision-Making Processes in Virtual Teams in the UAE

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Vida Davidaviciene ◽  
Khaled Al Majzoub ◽  
Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Direct Effect ◽  
The United States ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Organizational reliance on virtual teams (VTs) is increasing tremendously due to the significant benefits they offer, such as efficiently reaching objectives and increasing organizational performance. However, VTs face a lot of challenges that, if overlooked, will prevent them from yielding the required benefits. One of the major issues that hinders the effectiveness of VTs is the decision-making process. There is a lack of scientific research that attempts to understand the factors affecting decision making processes in VTs. Studies in this area have only been done in the United States and Europe. However, such research has not been conducted in the Middle East, where specific scientific solutions are still required to improve the performance of VTs. Therefore, this study is conducted in the Middle East, namely in the United Arab Emirates, to gain scientific knowledge on this region’s specificity. An online questionnaire (Google forms) was used to obtain the necessary data. Hypotheses were developed to test the influence of ICT (Information and communications technologies), language, information sharing, and trust on the decision-making processes, and the effect of decision making on team performance. Structural equational model (SEM) methodology was used to test our proposed model. The results showed that factors such as trust, ICT, and information sharing have a direct effect on decision-making processes, while language has no effect on decision making, and decision-making processes have a direct effect on the performance of the VTs.

The Effect of Cultural Dimensions on the Development of Intra-Team Trust in Global Virtual Teams

2011 ◽  
pp. 64-81
Author(s):  
Kurt D. Kirstein
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Virtual Team ◽  
Uncertainty Avoidance ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Team Leaders ◽  
Global Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Team Trust

The widespread adoption of global virtual teams has been driven by an unprecedented need to draw upon talents of employees from around the globe in a manner that is both organizationally and financially feasible. The success of these teams depends largely on the levels of intra-team trust and collaboration they are able to establish throughout the life of their projects. Team members on global virtual teams may differ substantially on a number of cultural dimensions including preferences for individualistic versus collective teamwork, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and contextual communication. This chapter will investigate how these four cultural dimensions are likely to impact intra-team trust within a global virtual team. Suggestions that team leaders can utilize to address these cultural dimensions are also presented.

Web-Based Template-Driven Communication Support Systems

2009 ◽  
pp. 105-120
Author(s):  
Herbert Remidez Jr. ◽  
Antonie Stam ◽  
James M. Laffey
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Asynchronous Communication ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Communication Support ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Scalable Methods

Teams whose interactions might be mediated entirely via Internet-based communication, virtual teams, are emerging as commonplace in business settings. Researchers have identified trust as a key ingredient for virtual teams to work effectively (Aubrey & Kelsey, 2003; Beranek, 2000; David & McDaniel, 2004; Iacono & Weisband, 1997; Jarvenpaa, Knoll, & Leidner, 1998; Jarvenpaa, Shadow, & Staples; 2004). However, researchers have not identified scalable methods that consistently promote trust within virtual teams. Improved interface design for communication support systems used by virtual teams may contribute to solving this problem. Interface cannot solve the problem of members trusting each other, but it can support the type of activities that do. This paper describes the development and some initial experiences with a Web-based, template-driven, asynchronous communication support tool and how this system can be used to support trust development in virtual teams and performance goals of virtual teams. This article presents the capabilities and features of the communication support system. More detailed findings from an experimental study of this system’s use can be found in another publication (Remidez, 2003).

Web-Based Template-Driven Communication Support Systems

2008 ◽  
pp. 310-326
Author(s):  
Herbert Remidez Jr. ◽  
Antonie Stam ◽  
James M. Laffey
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Asynchronous Communication ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Communication Support ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Scalable Methods

Teams whose interactions might be mediated entirely via Internet-based communication, virtual teams, are emerging as commonplace in business settings. Researchers have identified trust as a key ingredient for virtual teams to work effectively (Aubrey & Kelsey, 2003; Beranek, 2000; David & McDaniel, 2004; Iacono & Weisband, 1997; Jarvenpaa, Knoll & Leidner, 1998). However, researchers have not identified scalable methods that consistently promote trust within virtual teams. Improved interface design for communication support systems used by virtual teams may contribute to solving this problem. Interface cannot solve the problem of members trusting each other, but it can support the type of activities that do. This paper describes the development and some initial experiences with a web-based, template driven, asynchronous communication support tool and how this system can be used to support trust development in virtual teams and performance goals of virtual teams. This article presents the capabilities and features of the communication support system. More detailed findings from an experimental study of this system’s use can be found in another publication (Remidez, 2003).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document