Promoting Global Virtual Teams Across the Globe

This chapter presents a preliminary understanding of cross-cultural challenges and synergistic experiences of multicultural students engaged in Global Virtual Teams (GVTs). In this case study, we introduce the GVT structure as a novel learning platform which utilizes Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) tools as part of its virtual-based learning. We administer the case study with 30 students (n=30) in the United of Emirates (UAE) who engage in GVTs across the globe—encompassing 26 universities and 22 countries. Qualitative data is collected in the form of documents—reflective reports of the students’ experiential learning over a 10-week period. We content analyse the reports based on the thematic analysis with two distinctive categories—cultural challenges and cultural synergies based on the first seven weeks of the experiential learning process. In this study, we find that students experienced challenges such as managing technical difficulty, language barriers, deteriorating motivations, geographical distance, time differences, and non-committed and unresponsive attitude. However, students also experience synergies from the GVTs such as strong relationships and continued friendships, formation of emergent leadership, learned diverse managerial styles and competencies skills, varied use of varied CMC tools, and international exposure to diverse cultures without the need to travel abroad.

Many multinational companies (MNCs) have inevitably assembled and employed global virtual teams (GVTs) to leverage their work performance. GVTs are considered as an innovative and flexible work structure to achieve competitiveness in the era of globalization. The emergence of this structure is also due to the heavy reliance on computer-mediated communication technology and, as such, geographical boundaries and time zones are no longer considered as a hindrance to collaboration and communication. Yet, cultural differences remain challenging when team members work together in a non-collocated environment when they are engaged in managerial tasks such as problem-solving, negotiations, decision-making, and coordination. Thus, this new distributed collaborative phenomenon suggests that one of the key challenges in working together apart is the ability to adapt and acculturate to different cultural values that exist among team members. People need to be fully aware, understand, and be sensitive to the impact of cultural differences by exploiting appropriate online behaviors in order to reduce its detrimental influence on work performance. The purpose of this article is to present and understand the dynamics of intercultural collaboration within global virtual teams and how culture impacts their work performance in MNCs. Individuals from all over the world with diverse cultural backgrounds are increasingly collaborating using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies such as e-mail, Web, chat and videoconferencing, and others. Existing literature shows that when people with different cultural values communicate, it is not unusual for miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misinterpretations to occur (Chen, 2001; Gudykunst, 2003). Problems are intensified in CMC environment because of its limitation such as the absence of body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and many others (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986; Walther, 1996). However, little research has been conducted on the ways in which different intercultural communication styles and cultural values affect people working in a distributed or virtual environment, particularly on team members’ performance. Thus, in this article, first, I will introduce the phenomenon of GVTs and its crucial function in MNCs. Second, I will present the background of the phenomenon by highlighting the gaps as identified between two research fields--crosscultural management and computer-mediated communication. Next, the main focus of the article will be a discussion of the issue of intercultural collaboration. In this section, I will first provide a definition of GVTs, followed by several arguments on cultural challenges of GVTs. In the subsequent section, I will discuss the different types of CMC that are available to GVTs and the impact of culture on its utilization. Then, I will provide a brief direction of the future research agenda comprising of both the practical as well as theoretical perspectives. In conclusion, the article will highlight the significance of using GVTs in MNCs when people engage more prominently in intercultural collaboration, using CMC in order to promote and expand international business.

Many multinational companies (MNCs) have inevitably assembled and employed global virtual teams (GVTs) to leverage their work performance. GVTs are considered as an innovative and flexible work structure to achieve competitiveness in the era of globalization. The emergence of this structure is also due to the heavy reliance on computer-mediated communication technology and, as such, geographical boundaries and time zones are no longer considered as a hindrance to collaboration and communication. Yet, cultural differences remain challenging when team members work together in a non-collocated environment when they are engaged in managerial tasks such as problem-solving, negotiations, decision-making, and coordination. Thus, this new distributed collaborative phenomenon suggests that one of the key challenges in working together apart is the ability to adapt and acculturate to different cultural values that exist among team members. People need to be fully aware, understand, and be sensitive to the impact of cultural differences by exploiting appropriate online behaviors in order to reduce its detrimental influence on work performance. The purpose of this article is to present and understand the dynamics of intercultural collaboration within global virtual teams and how culture impacts their work performance in MNCs. Individuals from all over the world with diverse cultural backgrounds are increasingly collaborating using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies such as e-mail, Web, chat and videoconferencing, and others. Existing literature shows that when people with different cultural values communicate, it is not unusual for miscommunication, misunderstanding, and misinterpretations to occur (Chen, 2001; Gudykunst, 2003). Problems are intensified in CMC environment because of its limitation such as the absence of body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and many others (Sproull & Kiesler, 1986; Walther, 1996). However, little research has been conducted on the ways in which different intercultural communication styles and cultural values affect people working in a distributed or virtual environment, particularly on team members’ performance. Thus, in this article, first, I will introduce the phenomenon of GVTs and its crucial function in MNCs. Second, I will present the background of the phenomenon by highlighting the gaps as identified between two research fields--crosscultural management and computer-mediated communication. Next, the main focus of the article will be a discussion of the issue of intercultural collaboration. In this section, I will first provide a definition of GVTs, followed by several arguments on cultural challenges of GVTs. In the subsequent section, I will discuss the different types of CMC that are available to GVTs and the impact of culture on its utilization. Then, I will provide a brief direction of the future research agenda comprising of both the practical as well as theoretical perspectives. In conclusion, the article will highlight the significance of using GVTs in MNCs when people engage more prominently in intercultural collaboration, using CMC in order to promote and expand international business.

PurposeOne of the principal organizational developments in the last decade has been the pervasive influence of computer mediated communication (CMC) tools. The purpose of this paper is to closely interrogate the day‐to‐day role of e‐mail in explicating, influencing and shaping social and information interactions within an organization.Design/methodology/approachA series of in‐depth interviews (n=29) were undertaken to elicit employee opinions on their e‐mail adaptation, experiences and practices.FindingsThe paper provides insights into the polymorphic role of e‐mail, particularly the way in which it is adapted by individuals within the organization. Specifically, it shows how this tool interacts within day‐to‐day work activities and tasks.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper investigates only one CMC tool, e‐mail, although it is envisaged that this initial work will be used to raise a new understanding of the socially skilled adaptation of other CMC tools by employees as well as leaders.Practical implicationsPreviously unreported insights into employee opinion are delineated in order to provide a focus from which organizations can train and develop their employees and leaders to maximise knowledge creation within the organization.Originality/valueThis study assesses CMC from an under‐researched “real‐life” perspective in which everyday interactions are used to understand employee reactions to e‐mail communication and hence foster an atmosphere in which these interactions assist organizational development.

This study is an effort to explore Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions about integrating Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) tools in teaching and learning English and reasons they choose or avoid utilizing such tools in the classroom. 100 male and female English teachers with BA, MA, or PhD degree participated in this survey. A questionnaire was used for the purpose of the study. The findings reveal that the majority of teachers were positive towards computer mediated teaching. They asserted that CMC tools are time, energy, and money saving; interesting for the students; reduces cultural barriers by facilitating exposure to the authentic materials; enables teachers to encourage students beyond the limit of time and space; and enables learners to learn at their own pace. The results of the correlational analysis shows that the better teachers were at working with computers the more they showed positive attitudes towards applying technology in their teaching practice.

Reflective learning is a teaching method where active student learning is a core component of instructional design. In mathematical instructions, reflection and knowledge-construction take place in the language of mathematics. The development of mathematics module in the current study employs three computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools: Google Classroom, discussion forum and text messaging. This study seeks to determine the communication and learning forms which support reflective learning in the usage of CMC tools within the mathematics module. 30 Form 2 students with different mathematical abilities were selected as participants. Data collection include students’ online communication on Google Classroom (GC), forum discussion, and text messaging. A survey of students’ perception of communication using CMC tools and learning were also distributed. Google Classroom and text messaging were reported to have the highest frequency of communication among learners. The combined usage of the three CMC tools was found to be effective as it caters to learners’ preferred learning styles, encouraging collaboration and experiential learning. This study offers insights into group interaction in a reflective learning environment and its influence on the scaffolding of mathematics knowledge.

This paper explores the challenges of creating and maintaining trust in a global virtual team whose members transcend time, space, and culture. The challenges are highlighted by integrating recent literature on work teams, computer-mediated communication groups, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal and organizational trust. To explore these challenges empirically, we report on a series of descriptive case studies on global virtual teams whose members were separated by location and culture, were challenged by a common collaborative project, and for whom the only economically and practically viable communication medium was asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication. The results suggest that global virtual teams may experience a form of “swift” trust, but such trust appears to be very fragile and temporal. The study raises a number of issues to be explored and debated by future research. Pragmatically, the study describes communication behaviors that might facilitate trust in global virtual teams.

This paper explores the challenges of creating and maintaining trust in a global virtual team whose members transcend time, space, and culture. The challenges are highlighted by integrating recent literature on work teams, computer-mediated communication groups, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal and organizational trust. To explore these challenges empirically, we report on a series of descriptive case studies on global virtual teams whose members were separated by location and culture, were challenged by a common collaborative project, and for whom the only economically and practically viable communication medium was asynchronous and synchronous computer-mediated communication. The results suggest that global virtual teams may experience a form of ‘swift’ trust but such trust appears to be very fragile and temporal. The study raises a number of issues to be explored and debated by future research. Pragmatically, the study describes communication behaviors that might facilitate trust in global virtual teams.

Computer assisted language learning (CALL) literacy is an issue of great concern not sufficiently dealt with in the literature of language teaching and learning. This study examines CALL literacy by Iranian EFL teachers. Reviewing the literature and some models of computer, information, and technology literacy, to collect the data, a questionnaire in Likert scale composed of four sections of computer mediated communication (CMC) tools, online information literacy, multimedia literacy, and basic computer skills was utilized. Following the data analysis by SPSS package, the findings showed Iranian EFL teachers’ moderate level of CALL literacy; however, their literacy on CMC tools was below the satisfactory level. Further, there was a significant relationship between the teachers’ literacy and their academic degree, yet the relationship between their CALL literacy and their teaching experience as well as the difference between the teachers’ literacy and gender was found insignificant. The study has implications for EFL teachers in educational systems supporting CALL-based pedagogy.

The study of global virtual teams (GVTs) is important in the Information System (IS) field because GVTs employ a work structure that is heavily dependent on information communication technology. Besides the use of technology, GVTs are also composed of people from different cultural backgrounds. As such, GVTs are challenged not only to collaborate and coordinate projects in a virtual environment, but also to promote a trusting working relationship among culturally diverse members. In this meta-synthesis research, we sampled 3239 documents spanning fifteen (15) years, from 1995-2010 in seven (N=7) top IS journals. Trained coders read through all the articles systematically and coded the contents manually, only 55 useable articles were found that matched three or four of the codes (i.e., GVTs, virtual teams, trust, and swift trust). In the 15-year period, we found a startling result: less than 2% of articles published in the selected top IS journals have discussed this crucial topic. Hence, many more studies are warranted in order for the topic to be fully understood by IS scholars. We present the findings based on two thematic analyses: 1) GVTs vs. virtual teams and 2) GVT and trust and swift trust.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how students can learn how to work in multi-cultural global virtual teams in a classroom-based setting using experiential learning. The students from two graduate programs in France and Japan were given relevant reading materials, individual and joint team assignments on virtual team work and were asked to evaluate their work using previously identified global virtual team key success factors.Design/methodology/approachText-mining and co-word analyses of students’ assignments, and correlations of keyword frequencies with student culture scores provide insights on how students first experience this novel setting, raising their awareness and providing them skills for future application in an organizational setting.FindingsThe process experienced by virtual student teams has many similarities with the team formation stage in virtual teams in organizational settings. Such experiential learning is useful for global virtual team education, as students will have already experienced and solved typical challenges in a safer non-work-related setting.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is based on a small sample of respondents and therefore presents inherent limitations in terms of significance and generalizability.Originality/valueThe rise of information and communication technologies has facilitated the creation of new approaches for coordinating work and, subsequently, for new collaborative organizational forms. Little research has been conducted to address education or training for these new and essential forms of collaboration.

Global virtual teams (GVTs) are a valuable means to boost cross-geographical collaboration allowing organisations to benefit from worldwide talent pools, combining diverse skill, knowledge and expertise for superior innovation. However, those working in this environment are challenged by the added intricacies of working virtually between nations, cultures and time zones. Despite the increasing prevalence of GVTs, research on the conditions releasing the powerful potential of GVT innovation is a shortcoming in the literature. Thus, the primary aim of this study is to explore how GVTs operating virtually across national bounds can make positive use of their diversity through shared leadership to realise advanced innovation. Then, because the existing innovation literature typifies popular fallacy that innovation will always lead to positive outcomes, this study also seeks to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between GVT innovation and effectiveness. In efforts to undertake exploration of the relationship between diversity and GVT innovation van Knippenberg, De Dreu, and Homan’s (2004) categorisation-elaboration model (CEM) of team diversity is drawn upon. This model facilitates opportunity to adequately account for both the positive and negative effects diversity may have on team performance outcomes. It is hypothesised that shared leadership will mediate the relationship between diversity and GVT innovation, though it is expected that diversity may create relational challenges limiting cohesion and the occurrence of lateral influence among team members, hindering shared leadership and consequently innovation. To understand how the challenges of diversity can be negated, the moderating roles of cultural intelligence (CQ), asynchronous communication and cognitive trust on the mediated cultural diversity-innovation relationship are investigated. Empirical data were collected from a survey of 55 working GVTs, comprised of 438 team members across 50 countries. Additional data were collected from 53 supervisors on GVT effectiveness. As expected, results reveal a negative mediated relationship between cultural diversity and GVT innovation (through shared leadership), despite a strong and positive relationship between shared leadership and GVT innovation. GVT CQ and cognitive trust are both found to moderate the mediated relationship between cultural diversity and GVT innovation (through shared leadership). However, albeit favourable influence from cognitive trust on the diversity-shared leadership path and CQ on the shared leadership-innovation path, the relationship between diversity and shared leadership remains negative, and thus so too does the overall mediated relationship. Additionally, a positive relationship between GVT innovation and effectiveness is found, confirming the appropriateness of innovation as a positive team outcome. The results highlight several contributions to both research and practice. Most broadly, the integrative-moderated mediation model developed and analysed addresses incongruities in diversity research and provides more detailed insights into the complex interaction effects explaining the innovative process in GVTs. This further builds on the analysis of group diversity advanced in the CEM. The findings of this research also offer several future research directions for the continued development of GVT, diversity, shared leadership and team innovation literatures

Based on previous research at Arnhem Business School (ABS), the Netherlands regarding Global Virtual Teams (GVT), students consider virtual teams as an added value to the existing modules and extracurricular activities offered by the school [1]. This paper assesses the influence of Global Virtual Teams in Business Education at ABS regarding the development and design of new curriculum modules based on the experiential learning. It seeks to determine the significant challenges GVT confront and existing frames for the success of GVT at ABS and confirm the usefulness of Global Virtual Teams as teaching approaches by improving the understanding of the learning opportunities by utilizing experiential learning. We look at the skills and competences that students need to gain from participating in GVT Module to be able benefit of prospective job opportunities provided by companies.

Summary form only given. With the phenomenon of globalization, the global virtual team is widely recognized as an innovative working structure that relies largely on computer-mediated communication technologies. A global virtual team is defined as a distinct entity whose members come from different geographical locations, may not have a common background, is organizationally dispersed, collaborate using asynchronous and synchronous technologies, and often assemble on an ad-hoc basis. Hence, boundaries such as geographical distance, time, and organizations are no longer major barriers for small teams to work together. Yet, many teamwork challenges remain as these virtual teams engage in globally distributed collaborative efforts. Many of the complexities emerge from cultural differences, divergent mental maps, leadership problems, and technological barriers. The purpose of this paper is to present and synthesize the critical success factors generally accepted as critical in managing effective global virtual teams. The key questions that we address are: (1) what role does the enabling environment play in facilitating globally distributed teamwork collaboration? and (2) how best to manage the critical teamwork success factors in order to develop and manage effective global virtual teams?

A variety of Web-based low cost computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools are now available for use by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). These tools invariably incorporate chat systems that facilitate simultaneous input in synchronous electronic meeting environments, allowing what is referred to as “electronic brainstorming.” Although prior research in information systems (IS) has established that electronic brainstorming can be superior to face-to-face brainstorming, there is a lack of detailed guidance regarding how CMC tools should be optimally configured to foster creativity in SMEs. This paper discusses factors to be considered in using CMC tools for creativity brainstorming and proposes recommendations for optimally configuring CMC tools to enhance creativity in SMEs. The recommendations are based on lessons learned from several recent experimental studies on the use of CMC tools for rich brainstorming tasks that require participants to invoke domain-specific knowledge. Based on a consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the various configuration options, the recommendations provided can form the basis for selecting a CMC tool for creativity brainstorming or for creating an in-house CMC tool for the purpose.KeywordsComputer-mediated communication (CMC)electronic brainstormingcreativitysmall and medium-sized enterprises