Abstract:

Team virtuality refers to the extent to which team members disperse in different working locations and collaborate through use of virtual communication tools. Many organizations have reacted to the development of digital economy by enhancing team virtuality. However, whether team virtuality is beneficial or detrimental to team performance is still unclear in the extant literature. This not only leads to a lack of systematic and integrated understanding on the effects of team virtuality, but also confuses practitioners on whether they should enhance team virtuality, and if yes, then on how to leverage team virtuality to improve team performance. To address this research question and grasp the means to maximize the benefits and minimize the drawbacks of team virtuality, the current project comprising three studies investigates the dynamic contingency factors, mechanisms, and intervention strategies that could influence the effect of team virtuality on team performance.
First, based on the team development theory, this project explores the moderating of team development stage that could influence the relationship between team virtuality and team performance. Specifically, team virtuality is expected to inhibit team performance during the team welcoming stage, but enhance team performance during the team working and wrapping-up stages.
Second, drawing upon the team development theory and the literature on teams as information processors, this project investigates the underlying mechanisms whereby team virtuality promotes or inhibits team performance as well as the relative strengths of these effects and mechanisms at different stages of team development. Specifically, team virtuality simultaneously enhances team performance through team information transfer capabilities and decreases team performance through team members’ intention to share information. The positive effect of team virtuality on team performance is stronger than the negative effects during the team welcoming stage, while the negative effect of team virtuality on team performance is stronger than the positive effects during the team working and wrapping-up stages.
Third, this project explores team leaders’ intervention strategies on the effects of team virtuality on team performance during different team development stages. It suggests that team leaders could enhance the positive effect and weaken the negative effect of team virtuality on team performance by implementing Team-ICT matching intervention during the team welcoming stage, conducting process monitoring during the team working stage, and giving performance feedback during the team wrapping-up stage.
This project contributes to the literature on team virtuality by constructing a novel and systematic theoretical framework for understanding the double-edge effects of team virtuality. It also provides valuable management insights into how organizations can select and train team leaders, and how team leaders can enhance their management capabilities in virtual work environments.

Key words: team virtuality, team performance, team development stage, leader intervention