Managing Virtual Team Performance: An Exploratory Study of Social Loafing and Social Comparison

This study investigates the effects of social comparison and social loafing on virtual team performance when teams engage in asynchronous ideation process. The results of the study suggest that the effects of social comparison and social loafing co-exist in virtual teams. Team members may choose to engage in different behaviors (social loafing vs. social comparison) in different team interactions. Furthermore, team members tend to elaborate on the ideas generated by co-workers. As a result, teams with less social loafing will produce richer elaboration on ideas generated

An exploration into the use of the digital platform Slack to support group assessments and feedback and the impact on engagement - Working Paper

Funded by Teaching Innovation Project (DMU)Assessment and feedback is consistently highlighted as an area where students feel Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) could improve and regularly scores lowest of the key criteria for student satisfaction (Grove, 2014). Furthermore, group assessment, where students not only need to learn assessment requirements, but also social skills required to work collaboratively (Reiser, 2017), can create additional challenges. The majority of university students have grown up as digital natives, with 81% of students reporting use of mobile devices whilst studying (Al-Emran, Elsherif & Shaalan, 2016). There is a requirement to consider more brave and innovative technological approaches to supporting students. This working paper explores whether adopting an industry tool Slack, a Computer-Mediated Communication platform, can be an effective tool in group assessments. More specifically, can Slack facilitate an innovative and collaborative group learning community for mediating and supporting group assessments amongst level 5 undergraduate marketing students and additionally develop graduate competencies. Proposing a programme of qualitative inquiry, using a multi-method case study approach, data will be collected through six focus groups of 8-10 students and two semi-structured individual interviews with members of the teaching team in order to evaluate the use of Slack in supporting and engaging students in group assessments

Bridging the academic divide? Exploratory discourse on the challenges of distance and culture for academic global virtual teams

Abstract. Global virtual teams (GVTs) have become an industry-wide trend in\ud international business that is widely studied and reviewed. In academia, similar\ud team structures exist in collaborative global research ventures but are rarely\ud studied. This paper is an exploratory examination of the possible similarities and\ud differences that might exist for academic global virtual teams as compared to the\ud industry paradigm. This paper conceptualizes how cultural, linguistic, and\ud technological challenges may hamper academic collaborative success if not\ud acknowledged and addressed.\ud \ud <br />\ud <br />\ud \ud Résumé. Les équipes virtuelles mondiales correspondent à une tendance dans tout\ud le domaine industriel pour les affaires internationales et elles ont fait l’objet de\ud nombreuses études. Au niveau académique, des structures parallèles existent dans\ud des recherches menées au niveau global mais elles ont fait l’objet de peu de\ud travaux. Nous proposons ici une étude comparative entre les équipes virtuelles\ud universitaires et celles du monde industriel, en termes de similitudes et de\ud différences. Cet article se focalise sur les enjeux culturels, linguistiques, et\ud technologiques qui peuvent entraver le succès de la collaboration académique s’ils\ud ne sont pas suffisament admis et reconnus

Exploring Asynchronous Brainstorming in Large Groups: A Field Comparison of Serial and Parallel Subgroups

Objective: To compare the results of two different modes of using multiple groups (instead of one large group) in order to identify problems and develop solutions. Background: Many of the complex problems facing organizations today require the use of very large groups or collaborations of groups from multiple organizations. There are many logistical problems associated with the use of such large groups including the ability to bring everyone together at the same time and location. Methods: A field study involving two different organizations, comparing productivity and satisfaction of group. The approaches included a) multiple small groups, each completing the entire process from start to end, and combining the results at the end (Parallel mode); and b) multiple subgroups, each building on the work provided by previous subgroups (Serial mode). Results: Groups using the serial mode produced more elaborations compared to parallel groups, whereas parallel groups produced more unique ideas compared to the serial groups. No significant differences were found related to satisfaction with process and outcomes between the two modes. Conclusion: Preferred mode depends on the type of task facing the group. Parallel groups are more suited for tasks where a variety of new ideas are needed, whereas serial groups are best suited when elaboration and in depth thinking on the solution are required. Application: Results of this research can guide the development of facilitated sessions of large groups or ‘teams of teams’

Examining Factors Taht Affect Knowledge Sharing And Students\u27 Attitude Toward Their Learning Experience Within Virtual Teams

This study examined factors that might impact student knowledge sharing within virtual teams through online discussion boards. These factors included: trust, mutual influence, conflict, leadership, and cohesion. A path model was developed to determine whether relationships exist among knowledge sharing from asynchronous group discussion and the above five factors. In addition, this study examined if there are any relationships between quality and quantity of knowledge sharing and students\u27 grades. A correlation design was conducted to discover if there are any relationships among these five factors and knowledge sharing within virtual teams. Participants in this study were 148 undergraduate students from two classes in the Health Services Administration program in the College of Health and Public Affairs. The two classes were asynchronous online courses and both instructors used virtual teaming in their online courses. Online interaction occurred via online discussion boards, email, and online chat rooms. The results indicate that mutual influence and team cohesion are two major factors that directly affect knowledge sharing within virtual teams. Conflict mediates the relationship between trust and knowledge sharing. Leadership was also found to have a strong relationship with team cohesion, which then had a relationship with knowledge sharing. As far as the relationship between quality and quantity of knowledge sharing and the student\u27s grade, it was found that there is relationship between the quantity of knowledge sharing and students\u27 grades, however, no significant relationship exists between quality of knowledge sharing and students\u27 grades. The implications of this research for use of virtual teams in online distance education are also discussed

Virtual Teams During Covid-19: A Study on Group Perceptions, Emergent States, and Outcomes

Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, university students were forced to transition to emergency remote learning that, for many, required an abrupt shift from traditional face-to face instruction. The current study leveraged the unique opportunity provided by the change in communication modalities to compare pre and post pandemic perceptions of teamwork. Using the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) framework, this study sought to discover how group processes, emergent states, and outcomes differed for face-to-face and virtual group work. As part of a retrospective pretest design, a convenience sample of fifty-two graduate students from the University of New Haven completed a single survey that asked them to compare their experiences before and after the transition from face-to-face to virtual team collaboration. Dependent-sample t-tests were used to compare before and after perceptions of team constructs, and correlational data illuminated underlying data trends. Results showed that when in post-pandemic virtual groups, graduate students reported fewer positive experiences with their groups as opposed to when they were able to conduct their teamwork in-person before the pandemic. Both satisfaction with group members and overall group cohesion were significantly lower in virtual groups than they were when the students were face-to-face. Consequently, group performance was also reported as significantly lower than it had been before the pandemic. Major differences were found primarily in second-year students. The study’s findings demonstrate that workgroup cohesion is strongly linked to the satisfaction and performance of student project teams and was substantially higher when teams met face-to-face. Recommendations for educational practice regarding building cohesive virtual student teams are put forth

Mutual Performance Monitoring in Virtual Teams

The use of virtual teams in organizations has become commonplace (SHRM, 2012). While a great deal of research on teamwork exists, much of it has focused on collocated teams. Spatial and temporal separations inherent in virtual teams make working together as a team more difficult. This research examined a teamwork process previously unexplored within virtual teams -- mutual performance monitoring. An experimental intervention was conducted and outcomes at both the individual and team levels of analysis were examined. A total of 161 participants were assigned to work together in 47 teams on a decision-making task. Participants communicated and worked together online using the technology-mediated communication methods of chat and email. As predicted, mutual performance monitoring was important for building collective efficacy, reducing social loafing, and increasing satisfaction with team members. However, mutual performance monitoring was found not related to team performance. Reasoning for the findings, along with implications, limitations, and future research ideas are discussed

The HKNET Project: eCollaboration and Virtual Team Identity

E-collaboration is much more than the technological equivalent or substitute for traditional face-toface collaboration. The new metrics of time and distance modify, in essence, human interactions and, indeed, turn the classic network of face-to-face relationships into a network of e-relationships between individuals. The network, in turn, influences the development of a virtual team and its process and product. During the past four years, the authors have developed an educational project involving hundreds of students from different national cultures working together for six weeks on a specific project (HKNet). In this paper, we present our experiences and draw conclusions giving special attention to relevant social processes such as the development of multi-cultural team identity

Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds: Editorial to the Special Issue

Virtual worlds are Internet-based three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated environments where users interact through “avatars” – a computer-generated representation of themselves that they control in terms of appearance and behavior. In recent years, virtual worlds have evolved into sophisticated social systems where millions of people regularly collaborate. For dispersed organizational teams, they represent a viable collaboration environment in which users can integrate different communication channels and manipulate digital artifacts that represent actual team deliverables. In this editorial to the Special Issue on Team Collaboration in Virtual Worlds, we discuss past research and highlight key findings with respect to five dimensions of collaborative work: technology, people, information, process, and leadership. We conclude with a discussion of the key research challenges that lie ahead to shape the research agenda for team collaboration in virtual worlds and metaverses

Working Across Boundaries: Current and Future Perspectives on Global Virtual Teams

Global Virtual Teams (GVTs) are a commonplace in contemporary organizations, and an already established topic of research in international management. While we have a good understanding of advantages and challenges associated with this ubiquitous form of work groups, this special issue aims to contribute to theory development by focusing on key drivers that influence the success of GVTs, along with ways for mitigating their challenges. We briefly review current knowledge on GVTs and propose a structuring framework that can help with both organizing what we know about GVTs, and with guiding the conversation on where the research on this topic might focus next. We then introduce four special issue articles that illustrate avenues for generating new empirical evidence towards uncovering key characteristics and dynamics underlying GVTs complexities, providing useful insights for both theory development and managerial practice