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Writer's pictureStefan Lotz

Virtual Team Effectiveness: Some research insights

Virtual teams have become indispensable in the drive for corporate effectiveness through their ability to increase global reach, harness distributed expertise and decision-making and capitalize on team efficiencies. Sadly these outcomes sketch more the ideal scenario than the reality, as virtual teams are often characterized by a lack of trust, reduced team collaboration and communication, social isolation and other debilitating consequences (see Timedoctor and MaRS for comprehensive discussions).


Despite these drawbacks, the contribution of different types of virtual teams to corporate effectiveness and innovation in the future is indisputable. As virtual technology develops exponentially through new innovations such as AI, VR, cloud-based computing, Internet-of-Things (IoT) and hardware development, the quality and efficiency of virtual information exchange will increase. To fully utilize the virtual working environment, companies need to employ the correct metrics to not only assess and promote virtual team effectiveness, but to help them build effective teams from the start.


A virtual team, due to the nature of its communication, purpose, asynchronous utilization of time and geographical dispersion, requires different rules of composition, processes and work design, as well as different modes of personal interaction and tools for self-actualization to function successfully. 


Recent research provides insights into 4 areas of virtual team effectiveness i.e. knowledge-sharing and collaboration, feedback, communication norms and collective efficacy


Some of the key insights extracted from the research are as follows:


First, the time horizon of a virtual team should be kept in mind when specifying the purpose and norms of the team. Factors such as time differences, geographical separation, and cultural differences can have a mediating effect on team effectiveness over time. Understanding the roles of different types of virtual teams can be a useful guide. 


Second, communication norms (e.g. speaking time, number of speaking turns, responses to group posts, timeliness of responses, method for commentary, etc.) are positively related to individual-level team member effectiveness and should be clearly spelled out during group formation. Group charters or embedded technological procedures can make these norms more formal, while consensus decision-making can iron out unclear norms and anchor these norms within the group’s identity. Separate norms and procedures for information-sharing should also be embedded in the culture of the team. 


Third, feedback should be based on objective sources, focus on the team as a whole and combine performance related information with information on team processes and psychological states. Feedback should be embedded in both the norms of the team and in the technology-platform used (e.g. regular cadence meetings in calendar, responses to forum posts, group emails, Teams channels and chats, etc.).


Lastly, attention should be given to geographical separation, lack of synchronicity and cultural differences. Not only should these differences be made explicit, but interventions such as training, process consulting and virtual team building should be used to establish the purpose, norms and work processes of virtual teams.


These are just some of the insights that can be uncovered from the plethora of academic research available on Virtual Team Effectiveness. A deep dive into research can lead to evidence-based practices that can be invaluable to your company in the future.


Further reading:


Knowledge-sharing and Collaboration

Alsharo, M., Gregg, D., & Ramirez, R. (2017). Virtual team effectiveness: The role of knowledge sharing and trust. Information & Management, 54, 479–490.


Feedback

Handke, L., Klonek, F., O'Neil, T. A., & Kerschreiter, R. (2022). Unpacking the Role of Feedback in Virtual Team Effectiveness. Small Group Research, 53(1), 41–87.


Communication norms.

O'Bryan, L., Oxendahl, T., Chen, C., McDuff, D., Segarra, S., Wettergreen, M., . . . Sabharwal, A. (2024). Objective Communication Patterns Associated With Team Member Effectiveness in Real-World Virtual Teams. Human Factors, 66(5), 1414–1430., 66(5), 1414-1430


Collective Efficacy

Hardin, A., Davison,, R., Schneider, C, C., Looney, C., & Sarker, S. (2024). Contextualising collective efficacy in virtual team research: The essential role of collaborative technologies in the virtual team efficacy conceptual framework. Information Systems Journal, 34(2), 469-498.


McLarnon, M. J., & Woodley, H. J. (2021). Collective Efficacy in Virtual Teams: Emergence, Trajectory, and Effectiveness Implications. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 53(2), 187–199.



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