Managing distance by interdependence: Goal setting, task interdependence, and team-based rewards in virtual teams

Abstract

Virtual teams, i.e., work groups in which members collaborate from distant locations predominantly based on electronic communication media, are increasingly introduced in organizations due to new opportunities of electronic communication media and recent trends of globalization and teamwork. Among the main challenges of virtual teams is the maintenance of high work motivation due to reduced face-to-face interaction. The current study examined whether these motivational challenges can be compensated by the experienced interdependence within virtual teams. Consistent with our expectations, the result of a field study with 31 virtual teams showed that management practices related to goal, task, and outcome interdependence correlated with the effectiveness of the teams. In more effective teams, quality of goal setting processes and task interdependence were higher compared to less effective teams. Positive effects of task interdependence were particularly present during the first year of virtual teamwork. Moreover, the use of team-based rewards as operationalization of outcome interdependence was also positively related with team effectiveness. Further analyses revealed that the positive effects of these management practices were partially mediated by motivational processes of the team members. Implications for successful virtual teamwork are discussed.