Virtual Team Performance Research Articles

Telemedicine and Teamwork Among Health Care Professionals: State of the Science.

Background: As telemedicine becomes further rooted in standard patient care delivery, it is critical to understand how it may affect teamwork among health care providers. Understanding the state of the science between telemedicine and teamwork is an important first step. Obejctive: The purpose of this state-of-the-science review was to synthesize the published research on teamwork within the context of telemedicine. Methods: Data abstraction and analysis were structured following the Virtual Team Performance and the "Big Five" of Teamwork theoretical frameworks. The concepts within these models were used to organize data extraction. This state of the science used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria after final review. The most common variables were communication, tasks, leadership, team orientation, and team cohesion. Despite variable commonalities across the included articles, there was a discrepancy between improved and reduced teamwork outcomes with telemedicine. Conclusions: Multiple teamwork variables are influential across health care teams using telemedicine technologies-those that include communication, task facilitation, leadership, team orientation, and cohesion appear to have the greatest impact. However, it is not an individual teamwork variable, type of technology, or care environment alone that influences positive or negative outcomes among health care teams using telemedicine. Instead, it is a combination of factors and mechanisms that facilitate or hinder teamwork outcomes. A comprehensive model that describes the interaction of these common variables in teamwork among blended virtual and in-person health care teams is needed.

Improving Virtual Team Collaboration Paradox Management: A Field Experiment

Virtual teams are ubiquitous in the workplace, yet they experience frequent collaboration challenges. Successfully managing the team collaboration paradox, in terms of maintaining a unified team perspective and diverse individual perspectives, presents a potentially important lever to improve virtual team performance. However, scholars have conflicting opinions regarding whether such improvement is possible. We argue that team collaboration paradox management will positively relate to team performance over time and can be improved via a theory-based intervention. This intervention draws from theory on paradoxes for its content (paradoxical thinking) and team development interventions for its structure (general content knowledge, team-specific feedback, action-focused planning). Given the complexity of paradoxes, it is unclear whether a single training session could substantively improve their management; therefore, one intervention condition was comprised of a single training session and the other condition included a follow-up session. Analyzing two waves of multisource quantitative data from a sample of 76 virtual teams from 37 organizations, we find a positive relationship between team collaboration paradox management and team performance at both time periods. We also find that only the intervention condition with the follow-up session, as compared with untreated control teams, significantly improved how well teams managed the collaboration paradox and thereby facilitated subsequent changes in team performance. Supplementary qualitative insights from the intervention sessions illuminate the actions virtual teams took to improve their collaboration paradox management. These results have important implications for the paradox and teams literatures, as well as the managers and members of virtual teams. Funding: This work was supported by the SHRM Foundation [Project 166].

Effect of transformational leadership on virtual team performance: the mediating role of knowledge sharing

In today's world, many companies have employees from different countries, and they work together as virtual teams using technology. The leaders of these teams need to know how to manage their teams well, understand their unique skills and overcome challenges. Accordingly, we want to study the specific leadership style and its effects on virtual teams' success. Data for the study was collected from various companies that have online activities. Team members participated in surveys, providing information on how their leaders effectively motivated them to be productive and satisfied in their jobs. Additionally, the surveys examined team members' knowledge-sharing levels in their leaders and organizations. Based on the analyses, we found that transformational leadership positively affects virtual team performance but not knowledge sharing; however, knowledge sharing positively improves team performance.

EXPLORING EFFECTIVE METHODS TO BOOST VIRTUAL WORKERS' MORALE FOR IMPROVED PROJECT PERFORMANCE

Background: The continuous advancement of information technology has transformed how businesses and organizations carry out their day-to-day activities. Many people are choosing to work remotely because they are handling a significant number of human interactions through various virtual communication platforms. Remote work facilitates business growth and improves customer service, yet it presents its challenges, necessitating an investigation into virtual team morale to guarantee project success. Method: This study employed content analysis of readily available secondary data to examine the investigated phenomenon. Results: The study determined that the key elements for enhancing project success in virtual teams are technology adoption, an environment free from distractions, effective leadership, trust, communication, a well-defined task, active team engagement, and motivation. The study also found that morale strongly influences engagement and productivity in virtual teams. Therefore, when morale is high, virtual teams achieve their optimal performance. Conclusion: The research concluded that selecting the suitable technology for communication, assigning virtual team members with distinct roles and responsibilities, fostering a culture of accountability and trust within virtual teams, promoting efficient team collaboration, and motivating virtual team members are the most impactful tactics for enhancing employee engagement and performance in virtual teams.

Leadership Skills and Virtual Team Performance – The Case of Lebanese Multinational Companies

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of leadership skills on virtual team performance within multinational corporations in Lebanon. Drawing upon established literature, the research examines four key leadership dimensions: motivation, coaching, appreciation, and empowerment, exploring their respective impacts on virtual team effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: The study, conducted in Lebanon, aimed to explore the influence of leadership skills on virtual team performance through a positivist, deductive approach using a survey method and mono-quantitative methodology. Analyzing 148 individuals across various global Lebanese enterprises, the research employed descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analyses in SPSS to investigate the relationship between leadership abilities and virtual team effectiveness in the context of businesses utilizing remote collaboration due to globalization and technological advancements. Findings: The study aligns with prior research attributing positive correlations between leadership skills and enhanced team performance. Findings support the hypothesis that leadership motivation skills significantly enhance virtual team performance. Transformational leadership qualities, characterized by strong motivational capabilities, correlate positively with virtual team effectiveness. Implications: The findings underscore the pivotal role of specific leadership competencies in driving virtual team performance within multinational corporate structures. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how leadership motivational skills can be leveraged to optimize virtual team dynamics, ultimately improving organizational outcomes in diverse, multinational contexts.

Virtual Teams in the University: A Critical Literature Review and A Research Agenda

The incentives for the internationalization of universities and the digitalization of teaching driven by the situation of COVID-19 have increased the operation of virtual work teams in higher education institutions, both in terms of groups of students and groups of researchers. The objective of this study is to explore the evolution of academic research concerning virtual teams within university settings, aiming to delineate prominent research trajectories and outline a prospective agenda for future inquiry in this domain. This work involved a systematic review of the literature in the WoS and Scopus databases to identify what, when, who, where and how virtual teams in universities have been researched. The PRISMA method was used to guide the data collection process. Forty-seven articles were identified as relevant for analysis. Despite the significant development of academic research on virtual teams since the end of the last century, the necessary attention has still not been given to the specific case of virtual teams in universities. Most of the research has been conducted in the United States; however, previous research reveals that cultural aspects are relevant variables in the performance and efficiency of virtual teams, so it is advisable to extend this type of research to other countries and cultural contexts. In addition, we can also see that most of the works identified have analysed work teams formed by students, and there are very few studies on virtual teams of researchers, despite the importance of these teams in the context of encouraging the internationalization of research networks. Moreover, the review of the content of the articles as well as the future lines of research have been organized around a life cycle model, considering three categories: inputs, operating process and outputs-results. The second category is the most developed to date.

Academic pedigree diversity and global virtual team dynamics and performance

Academic pedigree diversity and global virtual team dynamics and performance

Does temporal distance (still) affect the performance of virtual teams

Does temporal distance (still) affect the performance of virtual teams

Does temporal distance (still) affect the performance of virtual teams

Does temporal distance (still) affect the performance of virtual teams

Interdependence in Virtual Teams—A Double-Edged Sword?

To address the increased need of understanding how interdependence affects virtual team performance, we experimentally manipulated process interdependence and resource interdependence in 102 virtual teams. We examined effects on team processes and team task and creative performance. Increased process interdependence improved both types of team performance, whereas resource interdependence decreased creative performance. Further, process interdependence was most beneficial for task performance when resource interdependence was low. Contrary to expectations, team processes did not mediate these relationships. We contribute to a fuller understanding of how interdependence influences key performance criteria in virtual teams and provide practical implications for designing virtual teamwork.

A configurational approach for analyzing cultural values and performance in Global Virtual Teams

Although there have been decades of research on the effect of cultural values on team effectiveness outcomes, knowledge of the interdependencies of team cultural values for explaining team performance remains nascent. Using a configurational qualitative approach, this study explores how cultural values combine and collectively contribute to the effectiveness of Global Virtual Teams (GVTs). We perform a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on a data set of 1847 individuals nested within 396 GVTs who participated in an international business consulting project. The results demonstrate that cultural values work together to achieve high levels of team performance rather than function independently. The results also show that different cultural value configurations could be equally effective at producing the same outcome, and that the presence of gender egalitarianism and the absence of power distance are the most important for producing the outcome. We discuss implications for practice and future research.

Invoking team trust to facilitate performance management in the context of virtual teams

Purpose: Recent years have seen an upsurge in virtual working arrangements. However, many managers find it difficult to manage and motivate employees in the absence of face-to-face contact. Traditional, structured performance management approaches therefore need to give way to more holistic and technology-enabled approaches that are better suited to virtual work. This study set out to investigate how managers optimise the performance of virtual teams, with specific reference to the role of trust, both within and across teams. While there is growing interest in the role of trust as a driver of virtual team performance, there is insufficient convergence between the respective literatures on virtual teams, team trust and performance management, leaving a research gap.Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 middle and top managers of virtual teams who worked in large companies in South Africa. The collected data were then subject to thematic analysis.Findings/results: These included: Virtual work can lead to a work–life imbalance; a lack of human contact can strain interpersonal relationships and erode trust; and optimal performance management in a virtual context depends on a trusting environment, clear and realistic goals, ‘agile management practices’ (including coaching and frequent feedback) and appropriate technologies.Practical implications: The study provides new insights into the challenges faced by middle managers in creating trusting and performance-geared relationships with virtual team members.Originality/value: The study expands on the existing team dynamics literature while also providing a convenient conceptual framework to guide future studies on the drivers of virtual team trust and optimal performance management.

Design principles for social exchange in social virtual reality-enabled virtual teams

AbstractSocial virtual reality (SVR) is a novel technology that can simulate and potentially enhance our face-to-face interactions. However, our understanding of interpersonal communication in SVR is still limited. To address this research gap, we describe how SVR enables social exchange (i.e., fundamental communication patterns of trust and reciprocity between individuals), which is closely related to virtual team performance. We present an information systems design theory for social exchange in SVR-enabled virtual teams (SE-SVR). Drawing from affordance theory and social exchange theory, we describe how SVR material properties (i.e., avatars, virtual objects, virtual space, and verbal and nonverbal communication features) enable and foster social exchange in SVR. As a theoretical contribution, we propose design principles for social exchange in SVR and connect them with testable theoretical propositions. Furthermore, we present the concept of interacting with presence, which facilitates users’ affordance perceptions in SVR. We conceptually validate our design principles and illustrate our design through an artifact instantiation: XR Campus, which is a minimum viable product of a collaborative platform for the ECIU University. Our SE-SVR theory has important research and practice implications because it explains how critical aspects of organizational remote communication can be considered in SVR design.

Presence and Team Performance in Synchronous Collaborative Virtual Environments

Synchronous collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) allow distributed teams to interact and work. CVEs afford a sense of presence, or “being there” in the workspace, as well as the opportunity to “do there” via interactions within the environment. However, there has been limited empirical evidence to support the link of presence and team performance, especially for CVE work. We identified multiple dimensions of presence that reflect relationships known to be essential to collaborative work and conducted a CVE experiment with 80 teams. Our results suggest certain aspects of presence are more important than others in driving virtual team performance.

Exploring the Roles of Social Presence Practices in Enhancing Virtual Teams Performance in the Higher Education Sector in Malaysia

Exploring the Roles of Social Presence Practices in Enhancing Virtual Teams Performance in the Higher Education Sector in Malaysia

Influencing Factors of Team Effectiveness in Global Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are gaining importance because they have given organisations and employees the ability to work from anywhere in the world without relocating them. The ability to work remotely and collaborate virtually has allowed organisations to expand their reach and tap into a global talent pool. Additionally, COVID-19 has resulted in seeking alternative work arrangements, including the information technology (IT) industry. However, virtual teams also have challenges that can affect team efficiency and effectiveness. Factors such as knowledge sharing, trust, language and cultural differences, distance, and time zone differences can all impact virtual team performance. This research describes several important factors that affect global virtual team efficiency, especially in IT projects, and underlying solutions are addressed to reduce the barriers. By understanding the challenges and implementing effective solutions, organisations can leverage the benefits of virtual teams.

Virtual team performance in the COVID-19 period: internal and external leadership roles, communication quality and role clarity

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsBoth internal and external leadership roles have a significant impact on leadership effectiveness and consequently on virtual team performance. Role clarity acts as a mediator for the relationship between external leadership roles and conflict while communication quality acts as a partial mediator between internal and external leadership roles and trust.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Play the Game: Evaluation of Psychological Capital, Emotional Intelligence, and Virtual Team Performance among Online Gaming Teams

Virtual teams are becoming ubiquitous with the contemporary work environment. Shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated many to reconceive the workplace whereby people accomplished work no longer located in immediate proximity, leading many teams to engage online in virtual spaces. Even in a post-lockdown world, virtual teams have remained widely used within the workplace. Online gaming has exploded in popularity, it allows people to interact with others from across the world. Numerous parallels exist between online gaming teams and problem-solving teams often used in the contemporary workplace: 1) pursuing a shared goal; 2) identifying member roles; and 3) collaborating together to accomplish a task. The purpose of our research is to examine the role that psychological capital and emotional intelligence play in team success within an online gaming team challenge. Participants will compete in an online video game event, where their goal, as a 6-player team, is to solve a set of challenges within 24 hours. The researchers will conduct a content analysis of participant recordings from the event. Findings and implications will be discussed. Understanding member interaction among online gaming teams has potential implications for how workplace teams can interact more effectively together.

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Haptic and Biometric Sensor Technologies, Spatial Data Mining and Image Processing Computational Algorithms, and Virtual Team Performance and Behavior Tracking Tools in Immersive Extended Reality Environments

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Haptic and Biometric Sensor Technologies, Spatial Data Mining and Image Processing Computational Algorithms, and Virtual Team Performance and Behavior Tracking Tools in Immersive Extended Reality Environments

Digitally Interactive Sensory Experiences, Generative Artificial Intelligence and Simulation Modeling Software Tools, and Virtual Team Performance in Immersive Virtual Workplaces

Digitally Interactive Sensory Experiences, Generative Artificial Intelligence and Simulation Modeling Software Tools, and Virtual Team Performance in Immersive Virtual Workplaces