How Hard Can It Be to Communicate? Communication Mode and Performance in Collaborative R&D Projects

Survey data and case studies of collaborative R&D projects are used to analyze the relative usage of communication modes [e.g., face-to-face (F2F), categorized as soft modes, versus written, categorized as hard modes]. Incremental (versus radical) innovation projects tended to use more written communication, as did those in which project managers defined the significant problems. Those with high ambiguity or equivocality did not rely more on F2F, but predictably, conflict and goal changes negatively impacted communication and performance. Despite managers’ insistence that F2F communication is critical, only the use of written communication was associated with project success. Soft communication modes (F2F) may be needed to set direction in projects involving radical innovation, or any other project in which goals are unclear and not well agreed upon. However, when the innovation is incremental, and goals are understood and accepted, the use of hard communication modes (written) is no deterrent to success.

Creating Positive Attitudes in Virtual Team Members

Patterns of what is required to enhance a virtual team member’s satisfaction with their work and with being part of the team, their commitment to the team, and their motivation with the project were identified via case studies of six employee virtual teams. Positive patterns were found between two or more of these outcome attitudes and the following input variables: significance of the task, task autonomy, interpersonal skills, team potency, and team spirit. Managing these input variables well would be important for organizations with virtual teams, because doing so could positively affect the team members’ attitudes toward the work, leading to enhanced productivity and effective behavior. Implications for practitioners and researchers are offered.

Understanding Composition and Conflict in Virtual Teams

Drawing from several years of empirical research, in this chapter, we look at the impact of the personalities of individual team members on the performance and process outcomes of virtual teams. Our studies showed that both too few and too many extroverts in a virtual team may result in low performance. While conventional wisdom says that teams should be set up on the basis of expertise, we argue that the resulting interaction styles of the members must be considered when establishing a virtual team. We offer suggestions for managers on assessing the potential for constructive interaction styles.

Motivational Antecedents, Constituents, and Consequents of Virtual Community Identity

In understanding the influence of virtual communities on its members, examined in this chapter is the role of identity — the member’s conscious knowledge of belonging and the emotional and evaluative significance attached to the membership. Drawing from research and analyses across different disciplines, we present an integrative framework considering and elaborating on the motivational antecedents, constituents, and consequents of virtual community identity. We also discuss its implications for virtual community organizers and highlight promising research opportunities in this area.

Newcomer Assimilation in Virtual Team Socialization

Socialization of newcomers in traditional organizations has been given considerable attention in the literature. However, little attention has been paid to how individuals are socialized in virtual teams. Examined in this chapter is the critical stage of organizational assimilation for newcomers in virtual teams and how this stage differs for traditional organizational socialization. Specifically, we address newcomer relationship development and virtual team metamorphosis. Recommendations for effective virtual team socialization are offered as well as areas for future research.

Trust in Virtual Teams

Discussed in this chapter are the role and importance of trust in virtual teams. It is suggested that the nature and degree of this trust are related to the culture and management philosophies of a firm, the interpersonal skills of management and team leaders, and the psychological characteristics and prior experiences and expectations of the team members. Trust and trust building are examined at three different levels: the firm level, the manager or team leader level, and the individual member level. A better understanding of the dynamics of trust in virtual teams will assist management in developing more efficient and effective virtual collaborative teams.

Effective Virtual Teamwork

While much of the work on virtual teams is grounded in the assumptions that teams are concrete entities, this chapter conceptualizes teams as psychological entities, existing in the minds of teams’ members and stakeholders. Drawing from interviews with 40 experts in virtual team building and two focus groups, we offer four principles for the existence of a virtual team: the awareness of its members that they are a “team,” identification with the team, commitment to the team goals, and accountability for team success. We then build upon that base to discuss how teams can be made more “intelligent.”

A Model for the Analysis of Virtual Teams

Presented in this chapter is a model for the analysis of virtual teams. The model is a helpful tool for mapping the different aspects of effective virtual teams and will be explained through several examples from practice. Before the model is introduced, an overview of the main challenges of virtual teams in performing their tasks is presented. There are hardly any technical obstacles for communication and collaboration across geographic boundaries, as these processes are being supported by high-tech collaboration solutions, such as groupware and other collaborative applications. However, these new types of groups create major organizational challenges for both managers and employees. It is the aim of this chapter to give insight into the design and performance of effective (global) virtual teams.

Virtual Teams as Sociotechnical Systems

In this chapter, we adopt a sociotechnical systems approach to understand the challenges faced by members of an organizational unit that is not constrained by geographical, temporal, organizational, or national boundaries. Specifically, we examine virtual team performance within the context of an open sociotechnical system, highlighting the effects that the technological subsystem (e.g., collaborative information technology) and external environmental factors (e.g., lack of colocation) have on the personnel subsystem (i.e., virtual team members) within the organization. The organizational psychology literature on group productivity, motivation, and shared mental models is reviewed to, first, better understand team performance within the context of distributed environments, and second, offer guidelines and interventions for organizational practice.

Leading from Afar

Leadership is central to effective virtual teams. Yet leading people from afar constitutes a challenge to practitioners and an underinvestigated research area to scholars. Based on a series of in-depth interviews with project leaders, senior managers, and executives of global organizations, this chapter advances 13 propositions about effective virtual team leadership. These propositions aid leaders of dispersed teams in overcoming leadership challenges they face.