Virtual team effectiveness using dyadic teams

Abstract

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design. A virtual dyadic team is considered as two person-structured teams working on a particular task in a virtual collaborative environment. This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication frequency, and team satisfaction.The results showed significance differences between the two virtual teams. Dyadic teams performed better in arriving at the task solution using less communication to finish the task. Dyadic teams were also more satisfied with their task solution than the self-structured teams. However, results indicated that dyadic teams were not satisfied with operating as a dyadic team in this study. The research also demonstrated that team satisfaction was the most significant predictor of virtual team effectiveness. The paper concludes with implications for technology managers and suggests guidance for improved effectiveness in design and implementation of virtual teams.