Challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing in project management virtual teams: a review

Technological advancements, globalization, and the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed digital communication into a central tenet of many project management virtual teams (VTs). However, successful VTs are dependent on communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members. Through a systematic literature review, this study investigates the challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing in project management VTs. As a result, eight key common themes were identified - trust, cultural diversity, collaboration tools and technology, communication and knowledge hoarding, leadership, psychological safety, communication guidelines and training, and resource planning. Furthermore, given the geographically dispersed nature of VTs, they face additional challenges than teams that interact face-to-face (in-person). Therefore, mitigating the challenges by focusing on the identified themes could lead to project success

Challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing in project management virtual teams: a review

Technological advancements, globalization, and the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed digital communication into a central tenet of many project management virtual teams (VTs). However, successful VTs are dependent on communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members. Through a systematic literature review, this study investigates the challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing in project management VTs. As a result, eight key common themes were identified - trust, cultural diversity, collaboration tools and technology, communication and knowledge hoarding, leadership, psychological safety, communication guidelines and training, and resource planning. Furthermore, given the geographically dispersed nature of VTs, they face additional challenges than teams that interact face-to-face (in-person). Therefore, mitigating the challenges by focusing on the identified themes could lead to project success

Discovering dynamic Virtual Team determinants through an interpretivist philosophical framework

Until recently most research has not been able to provide a consolidated view of all determinants that influence Virtual Teams (VTs). With increases in VT adoption a comprehensive approach is required to develop an understanding of new possible related determinants. A qualitative interpretivist approach is proposed as the underlying philosophy for this research project to allow for a more in-depth examination of the socially constructed subjective reality of participants. An examination of participants’ realities could provide a systematic view of new possible determinants that are relevant to VTs. Participants will be employees in VTs and will participate in semi-structured interviews across three phases throughout their membership in the team. Systematic analysis is proposed to take place as data is collected, with interviews conducted when the participant joins the team, mid-way through their team membership, and at the end of the team’s lifespan or the study. To ensure adequate data is captured, saturation calculations will take place alongside purposive sampling. All interviews will be recorded via an online platform and stored securely to ensure the integrity of the study. This will also ensure that coding and categorisation of activities can occur systematically. Findings from this research could provide new avenues for determinant analysis of VTs in the literature. The research output can also be used to assist practitioners to implement policies that will improve VT performance

People’s Trust in a Virtual Project Team: Results of a Game Experiment

This study aims to: (1) find out the variables that influence people’s trust in the virtual team in a project, (2) find out the relationship of these variables with people trust in the virtual team in a project, and (3) the relationship between the presence of experienced members on a virtual team in leading an organization to determine the success of a project. The experiment was conducted using online Werewolf game and collected questionnaires from 30 respondents that divided into 3 groups, i.e., (1) having experience of being leaders, (2) a combination of having and having no experience of being leaders, and (3) having no experience of being leaders. A correlation test and a comparative test were used to analyze the result. The results found four variables that could influence people’s trust, i.e., (1) ability, (2) benevolence, (3) integrity, and (4) task faithfulness. All variables had a positive effect, except for task faithfulness. There is a relationship between the presence of leaders in a virtual team to the success of the project

An Empirical Model of Collaboration Capability and Absorptive Capacity in Virtual Teams: a Multi-Dimensional Investigation using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Virtual teams are being increasingly utilized in industry given their ability to bring together diverse knowledge and experience from individuals who are not geographically proximal. Having a diversity of knowledge within virtual teams is noted to benefit innovation outcomes; however, leveraging the benefits of diversity (both deep-level and functional level) is likely to require a capability to facilitate collaboration among team members. This dissertation examines collaboration capability and absorptive capacity at the virtual team level by evaluating the inter-relationships among the dimensions and their influence on team innovation. This research also tests the impact of team diversity on team innovation with an additional focus on understanding the moderating impact of collaboration capability and the mediating impact of absorptive capacity. Two dimensions of team diversity are examined. The first dimension, deep-level diversity, involves the individual characteristics, values, attitudes and preferences. The second dimension, functional-level diversity, which entails the diversity in functional and expertise backgrounds. Survey data was collected from 166 virtual team members and the validation process revealed satisfactory psychometric properties at the items and the constructs level. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the factor structure of the hypothesized models, as well as its reliability and validity

An Empirical Model of Collaboration Capability and Absorptive Capacity in Virtual Teams: a Multi-Dimensional Investigation using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Virtual teams are being increasingly utilized in industry given their ability to bring together diverse knowledge and experience from individuals who are not geographically proximal. Having a diversity of knowledge within virtual teams is noted to benefit innovation outcomes; however, leveraging the benefits of diversity (both deep-level and functional level) is likely to require a capability to facilitate collaboration among team members. This dissertation examines collaboration capability and absorptive capacity at the virtual team level by evaluating the inter-relationships among the dimensions and their influence on team innovation. This research also tests the impact of team diversity on team innovation with an additional focus on understanding the moderating impact of collaboration capability and the mediating impact of absorptive capacity. Two dimensions of team diversity are examined. The first dimension, deep-level diversity, involves the individual characteristics, values, attitudes and preferences. The second dimension, functional-level diversity, which entails the diversity in functional and expertise backgrounds. Survey data was collected from 166 virtual team members and the validation process revealed satisfactory psychometric properties at the items and the constructs level. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the factor structure of the hypothesized models, as well as its reliability and validity