Pak Yoong

Relationship building and the use of ICT in boundary-crossing virtual teams: a facilitator's perspective

Global virtual teams are playing an increasingly important role in international business by offering organizations the opportunity for reaching beyond traditional boundaries. However, their use has outpaced our understanding of their dynamics and unique characteristics. For example, global, multicultural, interorganizational, virtual teams and the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) present real and compelling challenges to facilitators, but they also present teams with unparalleled opportunities for expanding on perspectives, approaches and ideas. However, crossing organizational, cultural and time and distance boundaries requires training, experience and organizational support. While research shows that the development of personal relationships between virtual team members is an important factor in effective working relationships, little research has been conducted on the effects of crossing organizational, cultural and time and distance boundaries on relationship building in virtual teams. This paper reports on a field study of New Zealand-based virtual team facilitators working with boundary-spanning virtual teams. From a facilitators perspective, boundary-crossing issues (organizational, cultural, language and time and distance) can affect relationship building in many important ways. For instance, facilitators found that organizational boundary crossing was affected by differing organizational cultures and policies, while working across cultures required awareness and adjustment in relationship-building expectations and strategies. Crossing time and distance barriers necessitated the skilful use of synchronous and asynchronous ICTs and communication channels. These findings will be explored and the implications for practice and research will also be discussed.

Facilitating virtual team relationships via Internet and conventional communication channels

The development of personal relationships between team members is recognised as an important factor in enhancing effective working relationships among members of both co‐located and virtual teams. However, little has been written on how to build these online relationships among virtual team members. This paper reports part of a qualitative research study on how facilitators of virtual teams build and maintain online relationships. In particular, the paper examines how virtual team facilitators use Internet‐based and conventional electronic communication channels to build relationships with their virtual team members. The findings suggest that some electronic communication channels are more effective than others in building online relationships. The paper concludes by suggesting that facilitators need to strategically use the channels available to them to effectively build online relationships.

Knowledge work and telework: an exploratory study

Describes a case research study into how knowledge workers adopt telework as an alternative work arrangement. It reports how knowledge workers in two New Zealand organisations organise their workload to take advantage of the information and Internet technology available to them in their work and home environments. The findings of the study indicate that knowledge workers are inclined to use home‐based teleworking as an adjunct to the work done during normal business hours. Their preference is still to work at the office for most of their work time. Discusses the implications of the findings for practice and research.

Knowledge loss when older experts leave knowledge-intensive organisations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe different concepts of valuable knowledge that are perceived to be lost when an older expert departs from a knowledge-intensive organisation. Design/methodology/approach – A multiple case research methodology and semi-structured interviews involving 17 participants from five small-to-medium enterprises (SME). Findings – Five concepts of valuable knowledge have emerged from the interviews: subject matter expertise; knowledge about business relationships and social networks; organisational knowledge and institutional memory; knowledge of business systems, processes and value chains; and knowledge of governance. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the research project is restricted to SMEs in New Zealand and this restriction limits the generalisation of the results to other contexts. This study may serve as a starting point for future investigations including larger organisations that may have a greater number of older experts. Practical implicat...

Discovering and Articulating What Is Not yet Known: Using Action Learning and Grounded Theory as a Knowledge Management Strategy

Purpose – To provide a conceptual model for the discovery and articulation of emergent organizational knowledge, particularly knowledge that develops when people work with new technologies.Design/methodology/approach – The model is based on two widely accepted research methods – action learning and grounded theory – and is illustrated using a case study of virtual team leadership, which investigated how virtual team leaders developed relationships with their virtual team members.Findings – The article demonstrates how action learning and grounded theory – two widely accepted research methods – can be used to discover and articulate new organizational knowledge.Practical implications – The model allows organizations to gain practical and highly current experiential knowledge from employees working in novel situations, including those using new organizational processes and technologies. Such knowledge can provide competitive advantage.Originality/value – The article contributes to the areas of knowledge man...

The impact of e-commerce on the role of IS professionals

Understanding the knowledge, skills and abilities of information systems professionals has been a longstanding goal of information systems research. An IS professionals ability to perform in his or her role is vital to the utilisation of information systems within an organisation. This research addresses the question: in what ways has the recent ascension of Internet-based electronic commerce altered the competency requirements of IS professionals? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen participants from a variety of public and private organizations, who are currently participating or had participated in e-commerce projects. The findings indicate that the implementation of e-commerce in organisations has introduced three main types of business changes: expectations, perceptions, and compliance. These three changes have in turn driven project changes and subsequent changes in the competency requirements and role of the IS professional. The implications of these changes for IS professionals and the organizations for which they work are discussed.

Action learning and groupware technologies: a case study in GSS facilitation research

Effective meeting facilitation is recognised as a critical factor in group support systems (GSS) use but relatively little is known about how organisations can train and develop their “electronic meeting facilitators”. This article describes an action learning (AL) approach to the training of GSS facilitators. It begins with a description of the three schools of AL. The application of the “experiential” school of AL in GSS facilitation training is then explained. Finally, the article describes some lessons learned for both practitioners and researchers.

Making sense of group support systems facilitation: a reflective practice perspective

Reports part of a grounded theory study in which 15 facilitators, already experienced in conventional meetings, were trained to become facilitators of face‐to‐face electronic meetings. Presents a model ‐ “Active reflection” ‐ of the reflective practice processes used by the trainee facilitators. Active reflection is a term which describes the trainees’ accounts of the two complementary action reflection processes: reflection on action (thinking back on what was done) and reflection in action (thinking about the action while one is doing it). Identifies a number of implications for group support systems facilitation training and practice.

The role of the blended action learning facilitator: an enabler of learning and a trusted inquisitor

This paper reports on a research study that involved the use of blended action learning to support leadership development within the New Zealand education sector. An important contributor to the success of this technology-enabled approach to professional learning was the role taken by the blended action learning facilitator. Two complementary aspects of this role were: enabling learning, the main focus of which was encouraging participation in online interactions; and acting as a trusted inquisitor, a process involving both supporting and challenging participants in their leadership learning. This study found that the balance between these two roles varied over the course of the blended action learning groups and this led to the identification of five distinct stages of blended action learning facilitation.

Interorganisational knowledge transfer: the role of the gatekeeper

This paper reports on a research project that investigated the key factors impacting on interorganisational knowledge transfer during a collaborative project involving a group of New Zealand State Sector organisations. Interviews were undertaken with seven gatekeepers (boundary-spanning individuals). The gatekeepers were found to have performed multiple roles, playing a critical part in enabling knowledge transfer throughout the project. These roles were: (1) flag-bearer for their organisation, (2) project advocate within their organisation, (3) translator and interpreter of new knowledge, (4) scout (a seeker of knowledge), (5) facilitator of knowledge sharing and knowledge creation and towards the latter stages of the project, (6) storyteller and (7) in-house expert.