UNDERSTANDING THE ADAPTIVE USE OF VIRTUAL WORLD TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES AND TRUST IN VIRTUAL TEAMS

In an environment of global competition and constant technological change, the use of virtual teams has become commonplace for many organizations. Virtual team members are geographically and temporally dispersed, experience cultural diversity, and lack shared social context and face-to-face encounters considered as irreplaceable for building and maintaining trust. Previous research has established that higher trusting teams have better cooperation and experience improved outcomes; however, trust building in a team where members are from different backgrounds, time zones and cultures is a considerable challenge. Virtual teams (VTs) rely heavily on technology to facilitate coordination, communication, and control in the team. One particular technology that has generated great interest as a viable tool in VTs is broadly referred to as metaverses. Metaverses provide unique technology capabilities that allow individuals to interact in a three-dimensional space. Unique capabilities such as visual communication among avatars, video and audio chat, and the communication of deliberate body language through gestures and other nonverbal cues may provide opportunities for VTs, particularly in relation to trust building. The broad goal of this research is to increase our understanding of the relationship between virtual team members and information technology during the development of trust. Specifically, this thesis focuses on understanding the relationship between metaverse technology capabilities and trust development between VT members by studying how technology capabilities are used and modified to shape trust in general and interpersonal trust in particular

In Memory of Dr. Ronald Reigner

Leaders and members of Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA), formerly Georgia Reading Association (GRA), were deeply saddened by the recent passing of a revered friend, Dr. Ronald Reigner. The association extends sincere appreciation for the contributions of Dr. Reigner, a Georgia Reading Association (GRA) Past President. Dr. Reigner served the organization faithfully in numerous positions during the past twenty years, including GRA President, GRA Executive Committee member, GRA Board of Directors member, GRA committee chair, local council president, and student council sponsor/liaison

From Strategic Intent to Implementation: How Information Technology initiatives take shape in organizations

Organizational success in a growing global marketplace requires industry leaders to continually evaluate themselves against their competition. In today’s competitive global marketplace, market leaders are discovering that market and product differentiation are not enough. Organizations must be able to identify and build upon processes and competencies by developing the skills of the individual to improve and achieve new advantages. Organizational leaders must develop a long-range perspective and motivation - this has been termed strategic intent. Research suggests that aligning IT and business objectives while creating a shared understanding between IT and functional managers can enable an organization’s ability to leverage IT resources. In this paper, we offer a comprehensive definition of strategic intent, identify categories of key success factors necessary for the successful incorporation of strategic intent into an organization’s planning process, and discuss the role of IT in delivering on strategic intent

My Guild, My Team: Applying the Technology Capabilities of Massively Multiplayer Online Games to Virtual Project Teams

Millions of people are playing Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), a computer game genre where thousands of players interact daily in highly complex virtual world environments. These players self-organize, develop skills, and acquire various roles. MMOGs appear to mirror the complexity of the business context while offering unique technology capabilities that appear to encourage group participation and emergent leadership. Managing a remote workforce across different time zones, geography and culture requires effective virtual collaboration and management of communication, coordination challenges and control issues. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the unique technology capabilities of MMOGs and propose how these may be applicable to virtual project teams (VPTs) for ameliorating the challenges of managing a distributed workforce and provide insights into the nature of next generation collaboration technologies that could be used by VPTs

Project Management Assurance in Agile Projects: Research in Progress

It is well known that many information technology (IT) systems development projects fail on one or more of the key criteria of cost, time and functionality. To manage the inherent complexity in IT projects and to provide methods for assessing project performance, we propose implementing an assurance process for IT projects - projects specifically using Agile/Scrum principles and practices. Building on prior work by Khazanchi and Owens (2010), the assurance process accounts for the uniqueness of the project while assessing potential risk factors at each stage of the project life cycle. We use the case of a midsized Midwestern U.S. university to gather feedback about how the project management assurance framework might work in the Agile project management environment

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

How Working from Home during COVID-19 Affects Academic Productivity

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced most academics to work from home. This sudden venue change can affect academics’ productivity and exacerbate the challenges that confront universities as they face an uncertain future. In this paper, we identify factors that influence academics’ productivity while working from home during the mandate to self-isolate. From analyzing results from a global survey we conducted, we found that both personal and technology-related factors affect an individual’s attitude toward working from home and productivity. Our results should prove valuable to university administrators to better address the work-life challenges that academics face

Working from Home During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Closer Look at Gender Differences

The world faces an unprecedented catastrophe in the COVID-19 pandemic. Working From Home (WFH) during COVID-19 diminishes the boundaries between work and home life. WFH can create obstacles for those suddenly forced to accommodate working and living in the same place. The purpose of this study is to investigate home-office conditions by studying employees who were forced to WFH during the COVID-19 crisis. We focus on how gender and family responsibilities shape worker reaction to WFH. Data was collected via an online survey administered at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examines differences in control over time, technology usefulness, WFH attitude, and WFH conflict based on gender and whether the worker has dependent children living at home, and notes significant interactions between gender and parental status. Our goal is to suggest best practices on how we can prepare for a next-generation (online) home office era in consideration of these personal characteristics

Avatars, People, and Virtual Worlds: Foundations for Research in Metaverses

Metaverses are immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds in which people interact as avatars with each other and with software agents, using the metaphor of the real world but without its physical limitations. The ubiquitous availability of high speed Internet access has spurred enormous interest in virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft, both in terms of user gaming and as a new technological platform for global virtual collaboration. These environments have potential for richer, more engaging collaboration, but their capabilities have yet to be examined in depth. Of particular interest in this paper is the use of metaverses for virtual team collaboration. We develop a conceptual model for research in metaverses that is based on five key constructs: (1) the metaverse itself, (2) people/avatars, (3) metaverse technology capabilities, (4) behaviors, and (5) outcomes. We present an in-depth characterization of metaverse technology capabilities from a socio-technical view that recognizes the potential for variation in emergent interaction and in outcomes. Example propositions and a discussion of key issues and challenges show how the model can be used to further research and practice in virtual teams in the context of these new environments

Moving First Life into SecondLife: Real World Opportunities for Virtual Teams and Virtual World Project Management

Consider a world where you can: conduct training sessions and bring together experts from around the globe in a single, common environment where learning is possible; hold effective meetings in a shared space where distant resources and people can come together to communicate, laugh, and create artifacts quickly and easily; and, coordinate a project with ease and overcome cultural barriers to team effectiveness. These scenarios can be realized with virtual world (VW) technology