Interpersonal relationships in transnational, virtual teams: Towards a configurational perspective

International Journal of Management Reviews

Volumn 13, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 59-78

  Zimmermann, Angelika ^a  

^a LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 78751688850     PISSN: 14608545     EISSN: 14682370     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2370.2010.00284.x     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Adenfelt, M. and Lagerstroem, K. (2008). The development and sharing of knowledge by centres of excellence and transnational teams: a conceptual framework. Management International Review, 48, pp. 319-338.
2. Adenfelt, M. and Maaninen-Olsson, E. (2009). Knowledge integration in a multinational setting - a study of a transnational business project. International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 3, pp. 295-312.
3. Adler, N.J. (1997). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior, 3rd edn. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing.
4. Baba, M.L., Gluesing, J., Ratner, H. and Wagner, K.H. (2004). The contexts of knowing: natural history of a globally distributed team. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, pp. 547-587.
5. Bell, B.S. and Kozlowski, S.W.J. (2002). A typology of virtual teams: implications for effective leadership. Group and Organization Management, 21(1), pp. 14-49.
6. Berg, N. (2006). Globale Teams: eine kritische Analyse des gegenwaertigen Forschungsstandes. Zeitschrift fuer Personalforschung, 20, pp. 215-232.
7. Bounken, R. and Winkler, V.A. (2010). National and cultural diversity in transnational innovation teams. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 22, pp. 133-151.
8. Burke, C.S., Priest, H.A., Wooten, S.A., DiazGranados, D. and Salas, E. (2009). Understanding the cognitive processes in adaptive multicultural teams: a framework. In Salas, E., Goodwin, G.F. and Burke, C.S. (eds), Team Effectiveness in Complex Organizations. New York: Routledge, pp. 209 - 240.
9. Capra, F. (1996). The Web of Life. New York: Anchor Books.
10. Connaughton, S.L. and Shuffler, M. (2007). Multinational and multicultural teams. A review and future agenda. Small Group Research, 38, pp. 387-412.
11. Cordery, J., Soo, C., Kirkman, B., Rosen, B. and Mthieu, J. (2009). Leading parallel global virtual teams: lessons from Alcoa. Organizational Dynamics, 38, pp. 204-216.
12. Cramton, C.D. (2001). The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration. Organization Science, 12, pp. 346-371.
13. Cramton, C.D. and Hinds, P. (2005). Subgroup dynamics in internationally distributed teams. Ethnocentrism or cross-national learning? Research in Organizational Behavior, 26, pp. 231-263.
14. Davison, S.C. and Ekelund, B.Z. (2004). Effective team process for global teams. In Lane, H.W., Maznevski, M.L., Mendenhall, M.L. and McNett, J. (eds), Handbook of Global Management. A Guide to Managing Complexity. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 227 - 249.
15. Davison, S.C. and Ward, K. (1999). Leading International Teams. London: McGraw Hill.
16. De Dreu, C.K. and Weingart, L.R. (2003). Task versus relationship conflict and team effectiveness. A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, pp. 741-749.
17. Dekker, D.M., Rutte, S.G. and Van den Berg, P.T. (2008). Cultural differences in the perception of critical interaction behaviors in global virtual teams. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, pp. 441-452.
18. Dirks, K.T. (1999). The effects of interpersonal trust on work group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, pp. 445-455.
19. DiStefano, J. and Maznevski, M.L. (2000). Creating value with diverse teams in global management. Organizational Dynamics, 29, pp. 45-63.
20. Earley, P.C. and Gardner, H.K. (2005). Internal dynamics and cultural intelligence in multinational teams. In Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (eds), Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press, pp. 1-32.
21. Earley, C. and Gibson, C.B. (2002). Multinational Work Teams. A New Perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22. Earley, P.C. and Mosakowski, E. (2000). Creating hybrid team cultures: an empirical test of transnational team functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 43, pp. 26-49.
23. Edwards, H.K. and Sridhar, V. (2003). Analysis of the effectiveness of global virtual teams in software engineering projects. Proceedings of the 36th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Washington: IEEE Computer Society. Available at:
24. Elron, E. (1997). Top management teams within multinational corporations: effects of cultural heterogeneity. Leadership Quarterly, 8, pp. 393-412.
25. Erez, M. and Earley, P.C. (1993). Culture, Self-Identity, and Work. New York: Oxford University Press.
26. Fulk, J., Monge, P. and Hollingshead, A.B. (2005). Knowledge resource sharing in dispersed multinational teams: three theoretical lenses. In Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (eds), Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press, pp. 155-188.
27. Geister, S. and Konradt, U. (2006). Effects of process feedback on motivation, satisfaction, and performance in virtual teams. Small Group Research, 37, pp. 459-489.
28. Gibbs, J.L. (2006). Decoupling and coupling in global teams: implications for human resource management. In Stahl, G.K. and Bjorkman, I. (eds), Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 347-363.
29. Gibbs, J.L. (2009). Dialectics in a global software team: negotiating tensions across time, space, and culture. Human Relations, 62, pp. 905-935.
30. Gibson, C.B. and Gibbs, J.L. (2006). Unpacking the concept of virtuality: the effects of geographic dispersion, electronic dependence, dynamic structure, and national diversity on team innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 51, pp. 451-495.
31. Gibson, C.B. and Grubb, A.R. (2005). Turning the tide in multinational teams. In Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (eds), Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press, pp. 69-96.
32. Gibson, C.B. and Manuel, J.A. (2003). Building trust. In Gibson, C.B. and Cohen, S.G. (eds), Virtual Teams that Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 59-86.
33. Gibson, C.B. and Vermeulen, F. (2003). A healthy divide: subgroups as a stimulus for team learning behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, pp. 202-239.
34. Gluesing, J.C. and Gibson, C.B. (2004). Designing and forming global teams. In Lane, H.W., Maznevski, M.L., Mendenhall, M.L. and McNett, J. (eds), Handbook of Global Management. A Guide to Managing Complexity. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 199-226.
35. Govindarajan, V. and Gupta, A.K. (2001). Building an effective global business team. MIT Sloan Management Review, pp. 63-71.
36. Hackman, J.R. and Oldham, G.R. (1980). Work Redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
37. Hajro, A. (2009). Contextual influences on multinational teams: empirical evidence from an Austrian company. European Journal of International Management, 3, pp. 111-129.
38. Hajro, A. and Pudelko, M. (2009). Multinational teams in the context of organizational culture: a multi-company case study. In Solomon, G.T. (ed.), Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings (CD ROM). Briarcliff Manor, NY: Academy of Management.
39. Hambrick, D.C., Davison, S.C., Snell, S.A. and Snow, C.C. (1998). When groups consist of multiple nationalities: towards a new understanding of the implications. Organization Studies, 19, pp. 181-205.
40. Harvey, M., Novicevic, M. and Garrison, G. (2005). Global virtual teams: a human resource capital architecture. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, pp. 1583-1599.
41. Henttonen, K. and Blomqvist, K. (2005). Managing distance in a global virtual team: the evolution of trust through technology-mediated relational communication. Strategic Change, 14, pp. 107-119.
42. Hinds, P.J. and Mortensen, M. (2005). Understanding conflict in geographically distributed teams: the moderating effect of shared identity, shared context, and spontaneous communication. Organization Science, 16, pp. 290-307.
43. Ilgen, D.R., Hollenbeck, J.R., Johnson, M. and Jundt, D. (2005). Teams in organizations: from input-process-output models to IMOI models. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, pp. 517-543.
44. Janssens, M. and Brett, J.M. (2006). Cultural intelligence in global teams. A fusion model of collaboration. Group and Organization Management, 31, pp. 124-153.
45. Jarvenpaa, S.L., Knoll, D.E. and Leidner, D.E. (1998). Is anybody out there? The implications of trust in global virtual teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 14, pp. 29-64.
46. Jarvenpaa, S.L. and Leidner, D.E. (1999). Communication and trust in global virtual teams. Organization Science, 10, pp. 791-815.
47. Jelinek, M. and Wilson, J. (2005). Macro influences on multicultural teams: a multi-level view. In Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (eds), Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press, pp. 2-9-232.
48. Joshi, A., Labianca, G. and Caligiuri, P. (2002). Getting along long distance: understanding conflict in a multinational team through network analysis. Journal of World Business, 27, pp. 227-284.
49. Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B. and Wei, K.K. (2007). Conflict and performance in global virtual teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 23, pp. 237-274.
50. Kumar, K., Van Fenema, P.C. and Von Glinow, M.A. (2005). Intense collaboration in globally distributed work teams: evolving patterns of dependencies ad coordination. In Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (eds), Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press, pp. 125-154.
51. Lau, D.C. and Murnighan, J.K. (1998). Demographic diversity and faultiness: the compositional dynamics of organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 23, pp. 325-340.
52. McDonough, E.F. and Cedrone, D. (2000). Meeting the challenge of dispersed team management. Research Technology Management, July-August, pp. 12-17.
53. McGrath, J.E. (1984). Groups: Interaction and Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
54. Massey, A.P., Montoya-Weiss, M.M. and Song, Y.T. (2003). Because time matters: temporal coordination in global virtual project teams. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19, pp. 129-155.
55. Maznevski, M.L. (1994). Understanding our differences: performance in decision-making groups with diverse members. Human Relations, 47, pp. 531-552.
56. Maznevski, M.L. and Athanassiou, N.A. (2006). Guest editors' introduction to the focussed issue: a new direction for global teams research. Management International Review, 46, pp. 631-646.
57. Maznevski, M.L. and Chudoba, K. (2000). Bridging space over time: global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. Organization Science, 11, pp. 473-492.
58. Maznevski, M.L., Davison, S.C. and Jonsen, K. (2006). Global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness. In Stahl, G.K. and Bjorkman, I. (eds), Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 354-384.
59. Mendenhall, M.E. (1999). On the need for a paradigmatic integration in international human resource management. Management International Review, 3, pp. 65-87.
60. Meyer, A.D., Tsui, A.S. and Hinings, C.R. (1993). Configurational approaches to organizational analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 36, pp. 1175-1195.
61. Miller, D. (1987). The genesis of configuration. Academy of Management Review, 12, pp. 686-701.
62. Miller, D. (1990). Organizational configurations: cohesion, change, and prediction. Human Relations, 43, pp. 771-789.
63. Miller, D. (1996). Configurations revisited. Strategic Management Journal, 17, pp. 505-512.
64. Milliken, F.J. and Martins, L.L. (1996). Searching for common threads: understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), pp. 402-433.
65. Moe, N.B. and Smite, D. (2008). Understanding a lack of trust in global software teams: a multiple-case study. Software Process Improvement and Practice, 13, pp. 217-231.
66. Montoya-Weiss, M.M., Massey, A.P. and Song, M. (2001). Getting it together: temporal coordination and conflict management in global virtual teams. Academy of Management Journal, 44, pp. 1251-1262.
67. Mortensen, M. and Hinds, P.J. (2001). Conflict and shared identity in geographically distributed teams. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12, pp. 212-238.
68. Nahapiet, J. and Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23, pp. 242-226.
69. Oshri, I., Fenema, P. and Kotlarsky, J. (2008). Knowledge transfer in globally distributed teams: the role of transactive memory. Information Systems Journal, March, pp. 1-24.
70. Panteli, N. and Davison, R. (2005). The role of subgroups in the communication patterns of global virtual teams. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 48, pp. 191-200.
71. Podsiadlowski, A. (2002). Multicultural workgoups: a differentiated view on group heterogeneity with regard to design and type of diversity. Zeitschrift fuer Sozialpsychologie, 33, pp. 241-259.
72. Rousseau, D.M., Sitkin, S.B., Burt, R.S. and Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: a cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23, pp. 393-404.
73. Schweiger, D., Atamer, T. and Calori, R. (2003). Transnational project teams and networks: Making the multinational organization more effective. Journal of World Business, 38, pp. 127-140.
74. Shachaf, P. (2008). Cultural diversity and information and communication technology impacts on global virtual teams: an exploratory study. Information & Management, 45, pp. 131-142.
75. Shapiro, D.L., Furst, S.A., Spreitzer, G.M. and Von Glinow, M.A. (2002). Transnational teams in the electronic age: are team identity and high performance at risk? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, pp. 455-467.
76. Shapiro, D.L., Von Glinow, M.A. and Cheng, J.L. (2005). Managing Multinational Teams: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Elsevier/JAI Press.
77. Stahl, G., Maznevski, M.L., Voigt, A. and Jonsen, K. (2009). Unravelling the effects of cultural diversity in teams: a meta-analysis of research on multicultural work groups. Journal of International Business Studies, doi:10.1057/jibs.2009.85 Article, pp. 1-20.
78. Sutanto, J., Phang, C.W., Kuan, H.H., Kankahalli, A. and Tan, B.C. (2005). Vicious and virtuous cycles in global virtual team role coordination. Proceedings of the 38th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Washington: IEEE Computer Society. Available at
79. Tajfel, H.H. (1982). Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
80. Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, pp. 384-399.
81. Turner, J.C. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
82. Von Glinow, M.A., Shapiro, D.L. and Brett, J.M. (2004). Can we talk, and should we? Managing emotional conflict in multicultural teams. Academy of Management Review, 29, pp. 578-592.
83. Warkentin, M.E., Sayeed, L. and Hightower, R. (1997). Virtual teams versus face-to-face teams: an exploratory study of a web-based conference system. Decision Sciences, 28, pp. 975-987.
84. Wegner, D.M. (1995). A computer network model of human transactive memory. Social Cognition, 13, pp. 319-339.
85. Wilson, J.M., O'Leary, M.B., Metiu, A. and Jett, Q.R. (2008). Perceived proximity in virtual work. Explaining the paradox of 'far-but close'. Organization Studies, 29, pp. 979-1002.
86. Zakaria, N., Amelinckx, A. and Wilemon, D. (2004). Working together apart? Building a knowledge-sharing culture for global virtual teams. Creativity and Innovation Management, 13, pp. 15-29.
87. Zellmer-Bruhn, M. and Gibson, C. (2006). Multinational organization context: implications for team learning and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49, pp. 501-518.
88. Zimmermann, A. (2008). Mutual Adjustment in International Teams. Saarbruecken: VDM Verlag.
89. Zimmermann, A. and Sparrow, P.R. (2007). Mutual adjustment processes in international teams: lessons for the study of expatriation. International Studies in Management and Organization, 37, pp. 65-88.