Dynamic boundaries in virtual student teams: Do we still need team cohesion?

Abstract

Distance education is becoming a global phenomenon affecting student teamwork, especially since the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Nonetheless, research in management education on changes in team cohesion in student teams is still quite limited, and even less is known in the context of dynamic forms of modern virtual team collaboration. In the present study, we address this gap by exploring how dynamic boundaries affect team cohesion. We address this question through a study conducted across two editions of a cross-university course (spring 2018 and 2019). Results from the qualitative triangulated data collected from a multiple holistic case study composed of 11 virtual student teams (65 participants) suggest that in the virtual student teams, dynamic boundaries replace team cohesion with “participant alignment” and have differential effects on this novel concept. Our results contribute to the literature in management education and team dynamics and can be helpful in the academic and management practice, shifting the focus from team cohesion onto participant alignment as a new individual-level multidimensional concept. This could become an important aspect of successful virtual teams operating under the modern dynamic conditions.