A Multi-Level View of the Antecedents and Consequences of Trust in Virtual Leaders

Although trust is widely acknowledged as critical to virtual teams, little is known regarding the causes and consequences of trust in leaders of virtual teams. This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of trust in virtual team leaders. Using survey and archival data from a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), this study’s findings show that trust in the leader is affected by team members’ use of synchronous communication and breadth of communication with leaders as well as team members’ distance from each other. Furthermore, reasoning that team size and culture create a shared context qualifying team members’ experiences, we found that team size and collectivistic values diminished the benefits of synchronous communication and breadth of communication, respectively. The findings also revealed that trust in leaders had a positive relationship to team performance. Detailed discussion of the findings is provided in the conclusion of the paper

Educating future product developers in collaborative product development : lessons learned from the european global product realization (EGPR) international course

Changes in the business environment, responses of companies to these changes and the available information and communication technologies (ICT) pose a number of challenges to present and future product developers, as well as to educational institutions. An appropriate response to these challenges is to create a solid basis for strategies to combat stronger competition, since existing educational programs have provided this only to a small extent. In our opinion, the E-GPR course carried out by 5 European universities reflects the tasks of professional product development teams and their work conditions as realistically as possible and will enable students attending the E-GPR course who will soon enter the professional world to later progress along a steeper learning curve. This paper focuses on the role of communication between members of virtual teams and presents experiences gathered during the organization, designing and performance of each year’s courses

Trust and its relationships with knowledge sharing and virtual team effectiveness

Virtual teams represent one form of organization structure that revolutionize the workplace and provide organizations with unprecedented levels of flexibility and responsiveness.However, implementing virtual teams could be quite challenging especially if it involves different languages, time zones, and communication styles.Most importantly, the autonomy of the virtual environment may cause team members to distort social and contextual information,and with limited proximal communication between team members,it can create a lack of trust among members of the virtual team members which can significantly reduce the effectiveness of these teams.Hence, this paper reports a study conducted to examine the relationship between trust and virtual teams effectiveness, by looking into the mediating effect of knowledge sharing.Results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that knowledge sharing and all the three types of trust are significantly related to virtual team effectiveness.However, only personality- based trust and institutional-based trust are significantly related to knowledge sharing, but knowledge sharing only partially mediates the relationship between these two types of trust and team effectiveness

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS VIRTUAL TEAM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCES FROM PAKISTAN’S IT SECTOR

Virtual team possesses strong pursuit for business. Virtual team may be encircled quickly and is active in its working. Performance is having major significance in any corporate team. Working in a virtual group follows many difficulties. This research focuses on the evaluation of effectiveness of trust, communication, and adaptation of culture, technology and composition on virtual team performance in Pakistan’s IT sector. The study examined that by linking these factors with the performance of virtual team either enhancing or lessening it. Moreover, study uses positivism research philosophy because it prefers scientific quantitative methods, deductive research approach as it is narrower in nature and is concerned with testing or confirming hypotheses and survey strategy. The acquisition of data has been done by spreading self-managed survey questionnaire, developed utilizing a software facility available online by Google Inc. This study provides the basic guideline for the managers/administrators of virtual teams. It may enable them as how to enhance their role in increasing team performance thus smoothing their way towards achieving the target particularly with reference to IT professionals. JEL Classification: M12, M1

Do We Trust the Technology? People? or Both? Ruminations on Technology Trust

While an increasing number of trust studies examine technological artifacts as trust recipients, we still lack a basic understanding of how technology trust “fits” into the broader nomological net espoused by trust theories. This paper adopts a measure of technology trust comprised of IT-specific dimensions. We then articulate a research model that separates technology trust from interpersonal trust (i.e., trust in humans). Our empirical study provides evidence that even in a context where technology fully replaces human interaction, technology trust does not substitute for interpersonal trust. Rather, our findings suggest that technology trust complements interpersonal trust as a predictor of intention and behavior

The Effectiveness Of Virtual Team: An Empirical Investigation Of Manufacturing Industry In Penang Malaysia

Pasukan maya (virtual team) akan menjadi satu cara asas untuk menjalankan perniagaan demi organisasi terus bertanding dalam sekeliling global. Virtual teams had become a fundamental way to conduct business in order for organizations to remain competitive and sustain in a global environment

Interpretive structural model of trust factors in construction virtual project teams

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management on 17/01/2022. The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-09-2021-0179Purpose Organisational dependence on virtual project teams (VPTs) is growing dramatically due to the substantial benefits they offer, such as efficiently achieving objectives and improving organisational performance. One of the major issues that influence the effectiveness of VPTs is trust building. The study aims to determine the key factors of trust in VPTs and design a model by identifying the interrelationships among the trust factors. Design/methodology/approach Focus group discussion was employed to gather data on factors affecting trust in VPTs and their interrelationships. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) was used to establish the relationship among the factors. MICMAC analysis was conducted to identify the driving power and the dependence power towards effective VPTs in the construction sector. Findings The finding revealed that ‘characteristics of team members’ (such as ability, integrity, benevolence, competence, reliability and professionalism) is the most significant factor for building trust in virtual team members. Some factors were further identified as having high driving power, while others were defined as having high dependence variables. Practical implications The findings will assist construction managers and practitioners dealing with VPTs identify the factors influencing trust among team members. Taking cognisance of the factors that influence 34 trust will enable them to design more effective virtual team arrangements. Originality/value As the first research of its kind using ISM technique, the study offers insights into interrelationships between trust factors in the construction VPTs. It provides guides for construction managers on the effective management of trustworthy VPTs

Investigating the individual trust and school performance in semi-virtual collaboration groups

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual trust of students in computer supported semi-virtual collaboration groups and student’s performance in school. Design/methodology/approach: Longitudinal questionnaires and interviews are conducted during the case study. By analyzing the data from the questionnaires and the grade earned by the students, the sample students are ranked with respect to the trust level and individual performance. Furthermore, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to compare individual trust level and performance in the computer supported semi-virtual collaborative environment. Findings: The distribution of an individual’s trust level is roughly consistent with the distribution of the individual’s performance in the collaboration. Besides, the relationship between a student’s trust level and the student’s performance is positively correlated. Research limitations/implications: This study integrates the issues of trust, school performance, and collaboration in an educational context. Furthermore, the conclusions drawn from this paper extend the literature of multiple disciplines including education, management, and psychology. Practical implications: The conclusions could apply in the fields of education and management since the analysis revealed the relationship between an individual’s trust level and their performance. Originality/value: This study contributes to the field of trust and collaboration research with a link to trust development and performance. The study also provides an insight into how to successfully improve the performance of student semi-virtual collaboration groups

Managing a virtual team through change

Change and the necessity for it are fundamental aspects of organisational performance and success in an evolving environment. A change in an organisation´s operations or structure needs consistent change management to be successful, supporting and guiding the organisation in its goals and purpose. Change management as a management discipline has been widely explored. This study focuses on change management in virtual environments, identifying the steps the change management process should include and the practices that change management requires from managers. A successful change management process is respectful, participative, and listening to the organisation´s personnel so that the organisation can perceive change management as more appealing. In addition, the engagement of the various participants in the organisation will streamline the process of implementing the changes in the organisation´s practices. This study was conducted qualitatively, and the research questions were analysed from the perspective of the phenomenon under study. The data was collected through an anonymous questionnaire, and the target group was limited to individuals who represent an organisation that has been involved in a change process in an organisation operating in a virtual environment over the past year. The questionnaire was used to determine how individuals perceived the change management process in their organisation and how it could be improved. Individual experiences are mirrored in the outcomes of the study concerning known change management processes, and the thematic analysis method of qualitative research has identified the most critical issues in terms of the research questions of this study. The review of the findings identified three main criteria for successful change management in a virtual environment. The three key findings are establishing and maintaining a continuous two-way communication relationship, involving different parts of the organisation in the planning and implementing change, and fostering trust and transparency through the various phases of the change process. The discussion chapter combines previous change management models with an overall impression of the change management process in a virtual environment based on the target group's experience and preferences. Using a comprehensive overview, this study formulated a change management process adapted to the virtual environment, reflecting the specific circumstances and characteristics of the virtual environment that were identified. The change management process created in the study considers the limitations of previous change management models. Muutos ja sen välttämättömyys on olennainen osa organisaation toimintaa sekä menestystä jatkuvasti kehittyvässä ympäristössä. Muutos organisaation toiminnassa tai rakenteessa tarvitsee onnistuakseen johdonmukaista muutosjohtamista, joka tukee ja ohjeistaa organisaatiota muutoksen tavoitteissa ja tarkoituksessa. Muutosjohtaminen johtamisen alana on laajasti tutkittu, mutta sen näkökulmaa virtuaalisessa toimintaympäristössä toimittaessa ei olla laaja-alaisesti tutkittu. Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma keskittyy muutosjohtamiseen virtuaalisissa toimintaympäristöissä, kartoittaen millaisia vaiheita muutosjohtamisprosessin tulisi sisältää ja millasia toimintatapoja muutosjohtaminen vaatii johtajilta. Onnistunut muutosjohtamisprosessi on organisaation henkilöstöä kunnioittava, osallistuttava ja kuunteleva, jolloin muutosmielteisyys organisaation keskuudessa voidaan kokea miellyttävämpänä. Tämän lisäksi organisaation eri tahojen osallistuttamisella muutosprosessiin voidaan sujuvammin impelentoida muutoksen myötä muuttuneet toimintatavat organisaation toimintaan. Tutkimuksen taustana on käytetty aikaisempia muutosjohtamismalleja, ja niiden soveltuvuutta virtuaaliseen toimintaympäristöön tarkastellaan tämän tutkimuksen näkökulmasta. Tämä tutkimus on toteutettu laadullisena, eli kvalitatiivisenä tutkimuksena ja tutkimuksen tutkimuskysymyksiä on tarkasteltu tutkittavan ilmiön näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen data on kerätty anonyymilla kyselyllä, ja sen kohderyhmä on rajattu yksilöihin, joiden edustamassa virtuaalisessa toimintaympäristössä toimivassa organisaatiossa on viimeisen vuoden aikana toteutettu muutosprosessi. Kyselyn avulla selvitettiin, millaisena yksilöt muutosjohtamisprosessin organisaatiossaan kokivat, ja miten sitä voitaisiin tulevaisuudessa kehittää. Yksilöiden kokemuksia peilataan työn tuloksissa tunnettuihin aikaisempiin muutosjohtamismalleihin ja laadullisen tutkimuksen teemoittelu analyysimenetelmän avulla on havaittu tämän tutkimuksen tutkimuskysymyksien näkökulmasta kriittisimmät aiheet. Tutkimustuloksien läpikäynnissä tunnistettiin neljä tärkeimpää onnistuneen muutosjohtamisen kriteeriä virtuaalisessa toimintaympäristössä toimittaessa. Nämä neljä keskeistä havaintoa ovat jatkuvan kaksisuuntaisen kommunikaatioyhteyden luominen ja ylläpito, organisaation eri osien osallistuttaminen muutoksen suunnittelussa ja implementoinnissa, luottamusta edistävä läpinäkyvyyttä vaaliva toiminta läpi muutosprosessin eri vaiheiden sekä riittävän ajan allokointi muutosprosessiin. Aiempia muutosjohtamismalleja yhdistetään kohderyhmän kokemuksiin perustuvaan tietoon luomalla kokonaisukuvan siitä, millainen virtuaalisen toimintaympäristön tarpeille soveltuva muutosjohtamisprosessi olisi. Luodun kokonaiskuvan havainnoinnin ja analysoinnin avulla tässä tutkimuksessa määritellään organisaation virtuaaliseen toimintaympäristön toimintaan soveltuva muutosjohtamisprosessi, joka huomioi esille tulleet virtuaalisen toimintaympäristön erityispiirteet. Tutkimuksessa luotu muutosjohtamisprosessi huomioi aikaisempien muutosjohtamismallien puutteet