Alanah Mitchell

Trust in virtual teams: solved or still a mystery?

Trust was one of the most prominent topics of early research in virtual teams, highlighted by the emergence of the theory of swift trust. As researchers continue to study this topic, it is important to understand what problems have been solved as well as what aspects of trust in virtual teams remain a mystery. We address this goal by presenting an in-depth analysis of existing research on trust in virtual teams. We review theories, methods, tasks, technologies, and major outcome themes from 42 empirical studies over an eleven-year period from 1997 through 2007. The analysis reveals gaps and areas for future research, including the need for additional theorizing, broader use of methods, deliberate interventions that enhance trust, and continuing evolution of the trust concept.

Teaching and Learning in Cross-Disciplinary Virtual Teams

Background: Virtual teams collaborate across distances using information communication technologies (ICTs). A distinctive set of communication skills is needed by people who work successfully in virtual teams, and few universities or companies provide structured education and training in virtual teamwork. At a midsized southeastern Masters Comprehensive University, professors from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education came together to explore how they might use cross-disciplinary student teams (groups comprised of students with different backgrounds and educational goals) to teach concepts in their own disciplines while providing students with the opportunity to become more proficient in virtual team communication. Research questions: (1) Can cross-disciplinary student team projects successfully support learning in virtual team communication as well as address the learning objectives of specific courses? (2) What can faculty learn from a cross-disciplinary teaching model that can be applied to virtual teams? Situating the case: Experiential learning is based on performing real tasks and reflecting on that process; it benefits learners by engaging them in complex, authentic situations. Virtual teams are significant because they support a great deal of the work currently taking place in our global economy; they are significant in higher education because students need to develop skills in international virtual communication before they are introduced to high-stakes work environments. In previous cases, students have collaborated across national cultures to develop project deliverables, such as websites, reports, and usability studies and present them in virtual environments using such tools as WebEx, Skype, and live streaming. How this case was studied: The findings from this case are based on individual student reflections, which were used to create a data matrix for each project, and instructor observation and evaluation. About the case: In Spring 2013, six faculty from the same university worked together to incorporate virtual teams into their classrooms. These six faculty members were divided into two groups of three with each group representing three colleges mentioned earlier. The faculty developed two interdisciplinary projects (one on infographics and another on social media) that enabled rich and diverse student collaboration. In both groups, the three faculty leaders worked together to define a project scope that students could achieve and that would relate to learning goals in each discipline. Conclusions: The lessons learned from this experience are that: (1) technical challenges will occur; (2) students from all disciplines must receive the same information; (3) instructors must balance respect for their colleagues and support for their students; (4) team assignments need to be consistent and fair; (5) instructors need to establish appropriate and fair assessment measurements for their own students; and (6) projects need to be realistic in order to show the students the value of virtual work.

An empirical investigation of virtual world projects and metaverse technology capabilities

Metaverses are immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds (VWs) where people interact with each other and their environment, using the metaphor of the real world but without its physical limitations. Unique technology capabilities of metaverses have the potential to enhance the conduct of virtual projects, but little is known about virtual worlds in this context. Virtual project teams struggle in meeting stated project outcomes due to challenges related to communication, shared understanding, and coordination. One way to address these challenges is to consider the use of emerging technologies, such as metaverses, to minimize the impact on virtual project teams. Applying a theoretical foundation for virtual teams in metaverses that includes both technology capabilities and the social interaction that takes place in the metaverse environment, we conducted an empirical investigation of project teams in a virtual world setting. The study examined the interplay of communication, representation, interaction, and team process tools with behaviors that led to role clarity, shared understanding, and coordination. While each individual technology capability contributed to project execution and outcomes, much of the power of the environment emerged through the interplay of social behaviors and technology capabilities. The results have intriguing implications for how metaverse technology capabilities might provide new ways to address gaps in the current research and practice of virtual project management and virtual teams.

Virtual Team Process and Pathologies: A Theory of Adaptive Intervention

The dynamic nature of group process is a long-standing challenge for research and practice, and particularly so in virtual teams, which are increasingly a regular part of organizational life today. Virtual teams act in fluid environments, as they strive to make sense of how best to incorporate appropriate technology choices during on-going interaction. Interventions in group process have potential to help teams make those choices. However, one set of critical factors that has received very little attention is the timing of interventions and their presentation style and content. These factors are particularly important in virtual teams, whose members rely on information and communication technologies and where technology interplay with group processes needs particular attention. Based on empirical findings, the authors present a new perspective on the longstanding topic of team process and the use of interventions, specifically in a virtual environment. The authors use the analyses of seven teams of students from three universities working together in a virtual workspace to complete a global offshore development project as case studies for building a process theory of adaptive intervention for virtual teams. The theory integrates team process with technology, to show how interventions can be used to proactively trigger and reactively respond to transitions. Ultimately, the theory shows how adaptive interventions can be used in a dynamic way to enhance virtual team process and thereby address key challenges that virtual teams face in their on-going work.

Understanding Continuance of Using VoIP Applications to Improve Intercultural Communication: Information and System Quality Perspectives

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a cost-effective medium to help learners improve their intercultural communication competency. However, the proliferation of VoIP applications has not accelerated the mass adoption of VoIP technology by users for the purposes of intercultural communication training. This study investigates the possibility of using VoIP technology as a learning tool to educate and train individuals to improve their intercultural communication. The perspectives of information and system qualities are adopted to investigate how to enhance users’ satisfaction and intention to reuse a VoIP technology for intercultural communication competencies. Information quality, system quality, and perceived task technology fit are important predictors of satisfaction. Satisfied users are more likely to continue using a VoIP technology. To test the authors’ expectations, 93 American and 45 Taiwanese subjects participated in a four-week experiment to virtually converse with each other via a VoIP technology (i.e., Skype). After working together one-on-one to communicate, participants completed a survey, resulting in 116 valid data points for analysis. The authors’ findings provide grounds for theoretical and practical implications concerning the adoption of VoIP technology by users as an e-learning tool.