Perceived discontinuities and constructed continuities in virtual work |
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Authors: | Mary Beth Watson‐Manheim Katherine M Chudoba Kevin Crowston |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Information and Decision Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, 2426 University Hall, 601 S. Morgan Street, MC 294, Chicago, IL 60607‐7124, USA, email: mbwm@uic.edu;2. MIS Department, Jon M Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University, 3515 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322‐3515, USA, email: kathy.chudoba@usu.edu;3. School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, 348 Hinds Hall Syracuse, NY 13244‐4100, USA, email;4. crowston@syr.edu |
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Abstract: | Boundaries such as time, distance, organisation and culture have been a useful conceptual tool for researchers to unpack changes in the virtual work environment, moving from a dichotomous perspective that contrasts face‐to‐face and virtual work to a more nuanced hybrid perspective. However, researchers may tacitly assume that all members of a virtual team and virtual teams collectively will respond to a boundary in a similar way. We posit instead that boundaries are a dynamic phenomenon and may have different consequences under different circumstances. We offer organisational discontinuity theory as a tool for more focused investigation of the virtual work environment. Discontinuities and continuities describe the setting in which individuals in a virtual team operate, both actual work practices and the perceptions of the individuals in the virtual work environment. The terms offer a starting point to identify and understand what may otherwise seem to be paradoxical differences in how virtual team members respond to boundaries. |
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Keywords: | virtual work boundaries discontinuity virtual teams |
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