Institutional boundaries and trust of virtual teams in collaborative design: An experimental study in a virtual world environment

Members of virtual teams often collaborate within and across institutional boundaries. This research investigates the effects of boundary spanning conditions on the development of team trust and team satisfaction. Two hundred and eighty-two participants carried out a collaborative design task over several weeks in a virtual world, Second Life. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to examine our research model, which compares individual level measurement between two boundary spanning team conditions. The results indicate that trusting beliefs have a positive impact on team trust, which in turn, influences team satisfaction. Further, we found that, compared to cross-boundary teams, within-boundary teams exhibited not only higher trusting beliefs and higher satisfaction with the collaboration process but also a stronger relationship between team trust and team satisfaction. These results suggest that trust and group theories need to be interpreted in light of institutional affiliation and contextual variables. An important practical implication is that trust can be fostered in a virtual world environment and collaboration on complex tasks can be carried out effectively in virtual worlds. However, within-boundary virtual teams are preferred over cross-boundary virtual teams if satisfaction with the collaboration process is of the highest priority.     

The Effects of Communication Modality on Performance and Self-Ratings of Teamwork Components

Based on McGrath and Hollingshead's adaptation of media richness theory and a model of team performance, a laboratory study was designed to compare the effects of three communication modalities of increasing richness on a complex psychomotor/intellective task (i.e., audio only, shared workspace, face-to-face). When teams worked face-to-face, they reported teamwork behaviors to a greater extent than when they worked via audio, and team members perceived their performance to be greater when face-to-face than when using audio alone. The use of a shared workspace enhanced some aspects of perceived team processes, such that distributed teams reported teamwork behaviors to a greater extent than when using audio alone. Teams also committed fewer errors when using a shared workspace than when using audio alone. Practical implications and limitations are discussed.     

Are team personality and climate related to satisfaction and software quality? Aggregating results from a twice replicated experiment

ContextResearch into software engineering teams focuses on human and social team factors. Social psychology deals with the study of team formation and has found that personality factors and group processes such as team climate are related to team effectiveness. However, there are only a handful of empirical studies dealing with personality and team climate and their relationship to software development team effectiveness.ObjectiveWe present aggregate results of a twice replicated quasi-experiment that evaluates the relationships between personality, team climate, product quality and satisfaction in software development teams.MethodOur experimental study measures the personalities of team members based on the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) and team climate factors (participative safety, support for innovation, team vision and task orientation) preferences and perceptions. We aggregate the results of the three studies through a meta-analysis of correlations. The study was conducted with students.ResultsThe aggregation of results from the baseline experiment and two replications corroborates the following findings. There is a positive relationship between all four climate factors and satisfaction in software development teams. Teams whose members score highest for the agreeableness personality factor have the highest satisfaction levels. The results unveil a significant positive correlation between the extraversion personality factor and software product quality. High participative safety and task orientation climate perceptions are significantly related to quality.ConclusionsFirst, more efficient software development teams can be formed heeding personality factors like agreeableness and extraversion. Second, the team climate generated in software development teams should be monitored for team member satisfaction. Finally, aspects like people feeling safe giving their opinions or encouraging team members to work hard at their job can have an impact on software quality. Software project managers can take advantage of these factors to promote developer satisfaction and improve the resulting product.     

Why is Your Team More Creative Than Mine? The Influence of Shared Mental Models on Intra‐group Conflict,Team Creativity and Effectiveness

In competitive and dynamic contexts team members need to be creative to ensure that teams achieve high levels of performance and feel satisfied with their work. At the same time, team members need to have a shared understanding regarding relevant aspects related to task accomplishment and team interaction. In this study we investigate the mediating mechanisms of intra‐group conflict and creativity in the relationship between shared mental models and team effectiveness (team performance and satisfaction). We tested our model in a sample of 161 teams (735 individuals) performing in a management simulation. We collected data at three time points. Our results suggest that high shared mental models are related to low levels of intra‐group conflict, foster creativity, and in turn improve team performance and satisfaction. These findings contribute to a scarce thematic – the relationship between shared mental models and creativity – emphasizing the importance of a shared understanding for creativity and team effectiveness.     

Group development in virtual teams: An experimental reexamination

Virtual teams are thought to be experienced differently and to have poor outcomes because there is little or no face-to-face interaction and a tendency for virtual team members to use different communication techniques for forming relationships. However, the expanding use of virtual teams in organizations suggests that virtual teams in real world contexts are able to overcome these barriers and be experienced in much the same way as face-to-face teams. This paper reports the result of an experiment in which virtual teams participated in an exercise where they completed an information-sharing task ten times as a team. The results suggest that, contrary to one-shot, ad hoc virtual teams, longer-lived virtual teams follow a sequential group development process. Virtual team development appears to differ from face-to-face teams because the use of computer-mediated communication heightens pressure to conform when a virtual team is first formed, meaning trust is most strongly linked with feeling that the team was accomplishing the task appropriately. As the virtual teams developed, trust in peers was more strongly linked with goal commitment. Once the teams were working together effectively, accomplishing the task appropriately was the strongest link with trust in peers. I suggest that virtual team managers should cultivate virtual workspaces that are similar to those proven to work in face-to-face contexts: (1) teams should have clear, specific goals, (2) members should be encouraged or even required to communicate with each other, and (3) team members should feel that they might work with the other team members again.     

The effects of virtuality level on task-related collaborative behaviors: The mediating role of team trust

This study aims to analyze the mediating role of team trust in the relationship between virtuality level and task-related collaborative behaviors. Three types of task-related collaborative behaviors were studied, namely team coordination, team cooperation, and team information exchange. Drawing upon theory and research on virtual teams and trust, we hypothesized that team trust partially mediated the effects of virtuality level on team coordination, team cooperation, and team information exchange. A laboratory experiment was carried out with 65 four-person teams randomly assigned to three communication media with different virtuality levels (face-to-face, video conference and computer-mediated communication). The results showed that team trust partially mediated the relationship between virtuality level and team coordination, and fully mediated this relationship with team cooperation and team information exchange.     

Overcoming impediments to virtual team effectiveness

The term virtual team denotes an organizational team whose members rarely meet face to face but who nevertheless perform interdependent tasks in pursuit of collective goals. This article identifies the unique aspects of virtual teams that generate major barriers to their effectiveness, and suggests ways in which these may be either overcome or mitigated. A process‐oriented model of virtual team effectiveness is presented, identifying issues associated with the development of transactive memory systems, work engagement, and collective efficacy as major challenges to virtual team effectiveness. These issues are illustrated with reference to the experience of virtual teams within a minerals processing firm. Finally, the authors discuss aspects of virtual team leadership and team climate that may help overcome some of the potential process losses associated with virtual teamwork. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Improving VDT workplaces in offices by use of a physiologically optimized screen with black symbols on a light background: basic considerations

Due to the increased importance and usage of self-managed virtual teams, many recent studies have examined factors that affect their success. One such factor that merits examination is the configuration or composition of virtual teams. This article tackles this point by (1) empirically testing trait-configuration effects on virtual team performance, which are based on supplementary, complementary and interaction person-team fit perspectives and (2) extending the suggested trait-configuration model to include virtual team configuration in terms of the perceived problem-solving demands of the task as a predictor of team performance. To this end, median regression techniques were applied to data from 62 self-managed virtual teams that used an asynchronous bulletin board for working on a case study analysis. The findings suggest a plausible negative main effect of within-team conscientiousness heterogeneity on team performance, operationalised as standardised team grade. This effect depends on the level of the within-team extroversion heterogeneity which helps to mitigate the negative effect of within-team conscientiousness heterogeneity on team performance. Furthermore, within-team heterogeneity of the perceived problem-solving demands of the task reduces team performance. Overall, this study proves that virtual team configuration matters, and demonstrates that the joint utilisation of multiple person-team fit perspectives for improving virtual team performance has merit. Implications for research and practice are further discussed.     

A replicated quasi-experimental study on the influence of personality and team climate in software development

This article reports a replication of a quasi-experimental study analyzing how personality factors and team climate influence software development team effectiveness, product quality and team member satisfaction. The replication was designed on the basis of the original quasi-experimental study, both of which were run in an academic setting. In the original study, data were collected from a sample of 35 three-member developer teams. All these teams used an adaptation of extreme programming (XP) to the academic environment to develop the same software system. In the replication, the data were collected from a sample of 34 three- or four-member developer teams working on the same software project. Student teams used a common object-oriented software development paradigm to solve the set problem and applied the Unified Process. In both studies all teams were formed at random, and their members were blind to the quasi-experimental conditions and hypotheses. The replication of this empirical study aims to verify the results of the original quasi-experiment. It examines, first, whether personality factors (neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, openness to experience and conscientiousness) are related to the quality of the developed software and team member satisfaction and, second, whether the preferences, perceptions and preferences-perceptions fit for the four team climate factors (participative safety, support for innovation, team vision and task orientation) are related to the quality of the developed software and team member satisfaction. The results of the replication corroborate some of the findings of the original study. On the one hand, the results revealed that there is a significant correlation between the extroversion personality factor and software quality, but no significant correlation between the extroversion personality factor and team satisfaction. Also, we found that the perception of team climate where participative safety is high is related to better quality software. We observed significant relationships between the perception of the four team climate factors and team member satisfaction. Additionally, the results showed a positive relationship between software quality and teams in which the real climate perception at the end of the project is better than preferences stated by team members at the outset of the project for the participative safety factor. Finally, we found that teams where the real climate is better than the stated preferences for the team orientation factor exhibit a direct and positive relationship to team member satisfaction.     

Team member selection decisions for virtual versus face-to-face teams

We compared the importance placed on task skills and four personal characteristics when selecting members of virtual and face-to-face teams. We expected that task skills would be most important in selection decisions for virtual teams due to the lack of physical proximity and visibility, whereas personal characteristics would be more important for face-to-face team selection. In a policy capturing study, 100 undergraduates’ decision policies indicated that task skills had a greater impact on selection decisions for virtual teams. Gender also influenced selection decisions, with women choosing more female than male applicants for both types of teams. Applicants’ race, physical attractiveness, and attitudinal similarity to participants did not influence selection decisions for either type of team; however, when assessed by self-report evaluations, these characteristics and gender, had a greater influence for face-to-face teams.     

Team development and group processes of virtual learning teams

This study describes the community building process of virtual learning teams as they form, establish roles and group norms, and address conflict. Students enrolled in an HRD masters program taught entirely online were studied to determine (1) how virtual learning teams develop their group process, and (2) what process and strategies they use as they work through the stages of group development. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry were used to capture the dynamic interaction within groups and the underlying factors that guided group process and decision-making. The results show that virtual learning groups can collaborate effectively from a distance to accomplish group tasks. The development of virtual learning teams is closely connected to the timeline for their class projects. Virtual teams are also similar in terms of their task process and the use of communication technologies. In contrast to face-to-face teams, the leadership role of virtual teams is shared among team members. Recommendations are discussed in order to facilitate peak integration of virtual learning teams into Internet-based training courses.     

Improving the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams by Adapting Team Processes

Results are presented from a study on virtual teams and whether appropriate early training can positively influence their effectiveness. Sixteen teams that worked together for periods ranging from three months to three years were studied. Team processes that emerged naturally from long-duration teams were formalized and taught to shorter duration teams. These shorter duration teams comprised three different cohorts, each of which received different levels of training. It was found that the adoption of formal procedures and structured processes significantly increased the effectiveness of virtual teams. Tasks that lend themselves to a structured approach were most effectively accomplished during virtual meetings, whereas face-to-face interactions were better for relatively unstructured, discussion intensive tasks. The performance of a virtual team was significantly improved when team processes were adapted to the affordances of the CMC environment. It is shown that this adaptation can occur very rapidly if teams are trained on the technology as well as on work processes that best exploit it.     

Adaptive learning algorithm of self-organizing teams

In order to improve the ability of achieving good performance in self-organizing teams, this paper presents a self-adaptive learning algorithm for team members. Members of the self-organizing teams are simulated by agents. In the virtual self-organizing team, agents adapt their knowledge according to cooperative principles. The self-adaptive learning algorithm is approached to learn from other agents with minimal costs and improve the performance of the self-organizing team. In the algorithm, agents learn how to behave (choose different game strategies) and how much to think about how to behave (choose the learning radius). The virtual team is self-adaptively improved according to the strategies’ ability of generating better quality solutions in the past generations. Six basic experiments are manipulated to prove the validity of the adaptive learning algorithm. It is found that the adaptive learning algorithm often causes agents to converge to optimal actions, based on agents’ continually updated cognitive maps of how actions influence the performance of the virtual self-organizing team. This paper considered the influence of relationships in self-organizing teams over existing works. It is illustrated that the adaptive learning algorithm is beneficial to both the development of self-organizing teams and the performance of the individual agent.     

Impact of heterogeneity and collaborative conflict management style on the performance of synchronous global virtual teams

Virtual teams cut across organizational cultures, national cultures, and functional areas, thereby increasing group heterogeneity, which may result in increased conflict among team members and less effective performance of the team. Our study explored the relationships that might exist among the heterogeneity of the virtual teams, their collaborative conflict management style, and their performance outcomes. The paper reports the findings of a laboratory experiment in which homogeneous and heterogeneous virtual teams, consisting of subjects from the USA and India, worked independently on a decision task involving the adoption of a computer use fee by an online university. Team members, used a web-based group decision support system (GDSS) that allowed them the opportunity to discuss task options, critique suggestions, and vote on the result. The data analyses suggested that collaborative conflict management style positively impacted satisfaction with the decision making process, perceived decision quality, and perceived participation of the virtual teams. There was weak evidence that links a group’s heterogeneity to its collaborative conflict management styles.     

Genetic Team Composition and Level of Selection in the Evolution of Cooperation

In cooperative multiagent systems, agents interact to solve tasks. Global dynamics of multiagent teams result from local agent interactions, and are complex and difficult to predict. Evolutionary computation has proven a promising approach to the design of such teams. The majority of current studies use teams composed of agents with identical control rules (“genetically homogeneous teams”) and select behavior at the team level (“team-level selection”). Here we extend current approaches to include four combinations of genetic team composition and level of selection. We compare the performance of genetically homogeneous teams evolved with individual-level selection, genetically homogeneous teams evolved with team-level selection, genetically heterogeneous teams evolved with individual-level selection, and genetically heterogeneous teams evolved with team-level selection. We use a simulated foraging task to show that the optimal combination depends on the amount of cooperation required by the task. Accordingly, we distinguish between three types of cooperative tasks and suggest guidelines for the optimal choice of genetic team composition and level of selection.      

Enhancing development team flexibility in IS projects

Information system development projects face tremendous challenges because of business changes and technology changes. Research has shown that software team flexibility has a positive effect on project outcomes, but specific requirements for enhancing flexibility are lacking. Drawing from the input-mediator-outcome (IMO) team effectiveness framework, this research investigates the contextual inputs and team processes that lead to development team flexibility and how well team flexibility improves project outcomes. A survey was developed to consider a model derived from the IMO framework. One hundred fourteen members of information systems development project teams in China responded to the survey. Partial least squares analysis was used served to analyze the data. Results indicate that a participatory culture and cooperative norms are an effective foundation for improving required processes that include project coordination of the project and knowledge sharing activities. In turn, the improved process performance extends responses to changes in technology and the business climate. The improved flexibility in meeting change is predictive of outcomes related to project performance and quality of the final product.     

Leader delegation in global software teams: occurrence and effects

Global teams are an important work structure in software development projects. Managing such complex global software projects presents many challenges to traditional leadership wisdom, in particular, how, why and when the leaders should delegate responsibility and authority. Delegation is considered an important leadership component to motivate and grow subordinates. Cultural differences, skill level disparity and potential competition between different software development sites creates a management context which is much different from where traditional leadership theories were developed. This study investigates leader delegation behaviors in global software teams and explores the reasons and impact of delegation strategies on global team performance. Semi-structured interviews and a survey was used to collect data from global software team managers and members from four countries of a Fortune 100 IT service company. The results of this study include in-depth analysis of hows and whys of leader delegation in global teams and a theoretical model for analyzing global team leader delegation occurrence and effects.     

Exploring the effects of trust,task interdependence and virtualness on knowledge sharing in teams

The sharing of knowledge within teams is critical to team functioning. However, working with team members who are in different locations (i.e. in virtual teams) may introduce communication challenges and reduce opportunities for rich interactions, potentially affecting knowledge sharing and its outcomes. Therefore, using questionnaire‐based data, this study examined the potential effects of different aspects of virtuality on a knowledge‐sharing model. Social exchange theory was used to develop a model relating trust to knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing to team effectiveness. The moderating effects of virtuality and task interdependence on these relationships were examined. A strong positive relationship was found between trust and knowledge sharing for all types of teams (local, hybrid and distributed), but the relationship was stronger when task interdependence was low, supporting the position that trust is more critical in weak structural situations. Knowledge sharing was positively associated with team effectiveness outcomes; however, this relationship was moderated by team imbalance and hybrid structures, such that the relationship between sharing and effectiveness was weaker. Organizations should therefore avoid creating unbalanced or hybrid virtual teams.     

The effectiveness of synchronous computer-mediated communication for solving hidden-profile problems: Further empirical evidence

We experimentally compared the effectiveness of face-to-face (FTF) and synchronous computer-mediated communication when using a chat tool in solving hidden-profile business problems. In such problems, information critical to its solution is dispersed among team members and they must share it to solve the problem. Unlike prior research using hidden-profile tasks, our study used a real-world business-oriented task, established real rather than ad hoc teams, and imposed a time constraint on them. Hypotheses derived from media richness theory were found to be supported, with the results revealing that computer-mediated teams using the chat tool were less successful in exchanging and processing information than FTF teams and were thus less successful at solving the hidden-profile problem. The results also showed that, when operating under a time constraint, FTF was preferred over computer-mediated communication due to the relative immediacy of feedback and multiplicity of cues available in the FTF setting, as media richness theory predicted.     

Linking perceived external prestige and collective identification to collaborative behaviors in R&D teams

Research efforts have long been directed at understanding variations in collaborative behaviors among work teams with burgeoning interest in teams operating in knowledge-intensive settings. One of the largely unexplained issues is how does team image and collective identification facilitate collaborative behaviors. Here, survey data were collected from nineteen highly technical work teams engaging in software development in an R&D division of a multinational NASDAQ firm involved in multimedia communications and information processing technology. The relationships between perceived external prestige, collective team identification and team collaborative behaviors were examined. The results of the team-level analyses suggest that perceived external prestige augments collective team identification (measured at Time 1), which in turn engenders a high degree of collaboration and interaction within the team (measured at Time 2). When past team performance was controlled for, the results consistently supported the hypothesized model.