Virtual Teams
Introduction
Continuing developments of information technologies (IT) have led to the creation of new organizational forms that are flexible and responsive (Fulk and DeSanctis, 1995; Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994). The virtual team represents an important example of these new organizational forms (Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994). Virtual teams are groups of geographically, temporally, and/or organizationally dispersed knowledge workers brought together across time and space by way of information and communication technologies (DeSanctis and Poole, 1997; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Lipnack and Stamps, 1997; Townsend et al., 1998). We limit our investigation to a class of virtual teams that has recently garnered considerable research attention. These are virtual teams that are assembled on an “as needed basis” in response to specific customer needs or to collaborate on unique projects (Iacono and Weisband, 1997; Jarvenpaa et al., 1998; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999).
Both practitioners and academic observers have recognized the potential advantages offered by the deployment of virtual teams. Virtual teams overcome the limitations of time, space, and organizational affiliation that traditional teams face. As a consequence, they are expected to enable organizations to better face the continued shift from production to service environments (Townsend et al., 1998), the increasing requirement for cross-organizational strategic cooperation (Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994; Townsend et al., 1998), the need to overcome geographical, temporal, and organizational boundaries, and the necessity to bring together dispersed talent (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Lipnack and Stamps, 1997). Most notably, the class of virtual teams that we consider offers unprecedented levels of flexibility and responsiveness.
While virtual teams provide a number of advantages over traditional co-located teams, they also face obstacles that their traditional counterparts do not have to contend with. Technological
Continuing developments of information technologies (IT) have led to the creation of new organizational forms that are flexible and responsive (Fulk and DeSanctis, 1995; Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994). The virtual team represents an important example of these new organizational forms (Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994). Virtual teams are groups of geographically, temporally, and/or organizationally dispersed knowledge workers brought together across time and space by way of information and communication technologies (DeSanctis and Poole, 1997; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Lipnack and Stamps, 1997; Townsend et al., 1998). We limit our investigation to a class of virtual teams that has recently garnered considerable research attention. These are virtual teams that are assembled on an “as needed basis” in response to specific customer needs or to collaborate on unique projects (Iacono and Weisband, 1997; Jarvenpaa et al., 1998; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999).
Both practitioners and academic observers have recognized the potential advantages offered by the deployment of virtual teams. Virtual teams overcome the limitations of time, space, and organizational affiliation that traditional teams face. As a consequence, they are expected to enable organizations to better face the continued shift from production to service environments (Townsend et al., 1998), the increasing requirement for cross-organizational strategic cooperation (Jarvenpaa and Ives, 1994; Townsend et al., 1998), the need to overcome geographical, temporal, and organizational boundaries, and the necessity to bring together dispersed talent (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Lipnack and Stamps, 1997). Most notably, the class of virtual teams that we consider offers unprecedented levels of flexibility and responsiveness.
While virtual teams provide a number of advantages over traditional co-located teams, they also face obstacles that their traditional counterparts do not have to contend with. Technological
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