Improving the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams by Adapting Team Processes

@article{citeulike:1901638, abstract = {Abstract\ \ Results are presented from a study on virtual teams and whether appropriate early training can positively influence their effectiveness. Sixteen teams that worked together for periods ranging from three months to three years were studied. Team processes that emerged naturally from long-duration teams were formalized and taught to shorter duration teams. These shorter duration teams comprised three different cohorts, each of which received different levels of training. It was found that the adoption of formal procedures and structured processes significantly increased the effectiveness of virtual teams. Tasks that lend themselves to a structured approach were most effectively accomplished during virtual meetings, whereas face-to-face interactions were better for relatively unstructured, discussion intensive tasks. The performance of a virtual team was significantly improved when team processes were adapted to the affordances of the CMC environment. It is shown that this adaptation can occur very rapidly if teams are trained on the technology as well as on work processes that best exploit it.}, author = {Rice, Daniel and Davidson, Barry and Dannenhoffer, John and Gay, Geri }, citeulike-article-id = {1901638}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10606-007-9070-3}, journal = {Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)}, month = {December}, number = {6}, pages = {567--594}, posted-at = {2007-12-02 23:06:21}, priority = {2}, title = {Improving the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams by Adapting Team Processes}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10606-007-9070-3}, volume = {16}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1901638 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1901638 TI - Improving the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams by Adapting Team Processes JF - Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) VL - 16 IS - 6 SP - 567 EP - 594 N2 - Abstract  Results are presented from a study on virtual teams and whether appropriate early training can positively influence their effectiveness. Sixteen teams that worked together for periods ranging from three months to three years were studied. Team processes that emerged naturally from long-duration teams were formalized and taught to shorter duration teams. These shorter duration teams comprised three different cohorts, each of which received different levels of training. It was found that the adoption of formal procedures and structured processes significantly increased the effectiveness of virtual teams. Tasks that lend themselves to a structured approach were most effectively accomplished during virtual meetings, whereas face-to-face interactions were better for relatively unstructured, discussion intensive tasks. The performance of a virtual team was significantly improved when team processes were adapted to the affordances of the CMC environment. It is shown that this adaptation can occur very rapidly if teams are trained on the technology as well as on work processes that best exploit it. AU - Rice, Daniel AU - Davidson, Barry AU - Dannenhoffer, John AU - Gay, Geri PY - 2007/12/31/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10606-007-9070-3 ER -