Fostering Work Engagement in Geographically-Dispersed and Asynchronous Virtual Teams

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that enable work engagement to develop when asynchronous communication is used in virtual team (VT) projects. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative approach, a longitudinal study of an eight-month long VT project was carried out. Data collected included an extensive e-mail archive, project documentation, observation of team meetings and interviews with project members and leaders. Findings: The findings show that VT leaders can actively promote work engagement through the effective use of resources along with appropriate practices that foster its development. They can also sustain and nourish work engagement throughout the different phases of the VT lifecycle project. Research limitations/implications: The study has examined work engagement in asynchronous mediated settings. Future work should involve studying the effect of synchronous communications on work engagement within VTs. Practical implications: Organizations that are interested in promoting effective virtual work practices need to train VT managers on how to keep VT members engaged throughout the various phases of the VT project. Social implications: It is posited that developing work engagement is not a one-off practice, but instead, requires ongoing effort that should be evident and supported across the different phases of the VT lifecycle. Originality/value: This paper forwards an important debate on work engagement in alternative, non-permanent, work settings

Engaged and committed? The relationship between work engagement and commitment in Professional Service Firms

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Why should I share my knowledge? A multiple foci of commitment perspective

Belgium Herbarium image of Meise Botanic Garden

The future of workplace commitment : key questions and directions

Contains fulltext : 189860pub.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Institutions and Organizational Socialization: Integrating Employees in Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions

There is a consensus within the Merger and Acquisition (M&A) literature that acquisitions fail during the integration phase, in large part due to neglect of social factors such as differences in rules, norms, and values across organizations. Thus, a crucial part of successful integration is whether firms can socialize employees effectively into the newly merged entity so that they learn accepted ways of behaving in that organization. This effect is exacerbated for cross-border M&As. Yet, there is little theory and practical advice on how to successfully manage post-M&A integration. We draw on institutional and socialization theories to develop a framework that identifies the most salient institutions involved in the socialization of employees during the post-acquisition integration process and apply this model to the international dimension. We conclude by presenting managerial implications of our model and suggestions for future research.