Virtual teams: Team control structure, work processes, and team effectiveness

Information Technology & People

Volumn 17, Issue 4, 2004, Pages 359-379

  Piccoli, Gabriele ^a   Powell, Anne ^b   Ives, Blake ^c  

^a 335 Statler Hall   (United States)

^b SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY EDWARDSVILLE   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON   (United States)

Author keywords

Autonomous work groups; Communication; Communication technologies; Control structures; Employee behaviour; Team working

Indexed keywords

EID: 84986166716     PISSN: 09593845     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/09593840410570258     Document Type: Article

References (94)

1. Allen, T.J. (1977), Managing the Flow of Technology, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
2. Ancona, D.G. and Caldwell, D.F. (1992), “Demography and design: predictors of new product team performance”, Organization Science, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 321-41.
3. Baron, R.M. and Kenny, D.A. (1986), “The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychology research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical consideration”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 51 No. 6, pp. 1173-82.
4. Bordia, P. (1997), “Face-to-face versus computer-mediated communication: a synthesis of the experimental literature”, The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 99-120.
5. Bostrom, R.P. and Heinen, J.S. (1977a), “MIS problems and failures: a socio-technical perspective part I: the causes”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 17-32.
6. Bostrom, R.P. and Heinen, J.S. (1977b), “MIS problems and failures: a socio-technical perspective part II: the application of socio-technical theory”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 1 No. 4, pp. 11-28.
7. Brown, S.L. and Eisenhardt, K.M. (1995), “Product development: past research, present findings, and future directions”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 343-79.
8. Bryk, A.S. and Raudenbush, S.W. (1992), Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
9. Burke, K. and Chidambaram, L. (1996), “Do mediated contexts differ in information richness? A comparison of collocated and dispersed meetings”, Proceedings of the 29th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Hawaii, pp. 92-101.
10. Carlson, J.R. and Zmud, R.W. (1999), “Channel expansion theory and the experiential nature of media richness perceptions”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 156-62.
11. Cheney, P.H. (1984), “Effects of individual characteristics, organizational factors, and task characteristics on computer programmer productivity and job satisfaction”, Information and Management, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp. 209-14.
12. Cheng, J.L.C. (1983), “Interdependence and coordination in organizations: a role-system analysis”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 156-62.
13. Cheng, J.L.C. (1984), “Organizational coordination, uncertainty, and performance: an integrative study”, Human Relations, Vol. 37 No. 10, pp. 829-51.
14. Chidambaram, L. (1996), “Relational development in computer-supported groups”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 143-65.
15. Cohen, S.G. and Bailey, D.E. (1997), “What makes teams work: group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite”, Journal of Management, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 239-90.
16. Cohen, S.G. and Ledford, G.E. (1994), “The effectiveness of self-managing teams: a quasi-experiment”, Human Relations, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 13-43.
17. Cohen, S.G., Ledford, G.E. and Spritzer, G.M. (1996), “A predictive model of self-managing work team effectiveness”, Human Relations, Vol. 49 No. 5, pp. 643-77.
18. Connolly, T., Jessup, L.M. and Valacich, J.S. (1990), “Effects of anonymity and evaluative tone on idea generation in computer-mediated groups”, Management Science, Vol. 36 No. 6, pp. 97-120.
19. Constant, D., Sproull, L. and Kiesler, S. (1996), “The kindness of strangers: the usefulness of electronic weak ties for technical advice”, Organization Science, Vol. 7, March-April, pp. 119-35.
20. Cramton, C. (2001), “The mutual knowledge problem and its consequences for dispersed collaboration”, Organization Science, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 346-71.
21. Crisp, B. and Jarvenpaa, S. (2002), “Control enactment in global virtual teams”, Proceedings of the Academy of Management Conference.
22. Crowston, K. and Kammerer, E.E. (1998), “Coordination and collective mind in software requirements development”, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 227-45.
23. Curtis, B., Krasner, H. and Iscoe, N. (1988), “A field study of the software design process for large systems”, Communiations of the ACM, Vol. 31 No. 11, pp. 1268-87.
24. DeSanctis, G. and Poole, M.S. (1994), “Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: adaptive structuration theory”, Organization Science, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 121-48.
25. DeSanctis, G. and Poole, M.S. (1997), “Transitions in teamwork in new organizational forms”, in Ed. Markovsky, B. (Ed.), Advances in Group Processes, Vol. 14, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 157-76.
26. Dougherty, D. (1992), “Interpretative barriers to successful product innovation in large firms”, Organization Science, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 179-202.
27. Ebadi, Y.M. and Utterback, J.M. (1984), “The effects of communication on technological innovation”, Management Science, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 572-86.
28. Eisenhardt, K.M. (1985), “Control: organizational and economic approaches”, Management Science, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 134-50.
29. Frone, N. and Major, P. (1988), “The effect of communication quality on job satisfaction among nurses”, Group and Organization Studies, Vol. 23, pp. 123-40.
30. Fulk, J. and DeSanctis, G. (1993), “Social construction of communication technology”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 921-50.
31. Fulk, J. and DeSanctis, G. (1995), “Electronic communication and changing organizational forms”, Organization Science, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 337-49.
32. Furst, S., Blackburn, R. and Rosen, B. (1999), “Virtual teams: a proposed research agenda”, Information Systems Journal, Vol. 9, pp. 249-69.
33. Galegher, J. and Kraut, R.E. (1994), “Computer-mediated communication for intellectual teamwork: an experiment in group writing”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 5, pp. 110-38.
34. George, F.J. and Jessup, L. (1997), “Groups over time: what are we really studying”, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Vol. 47 No. 3, pp. 497-511.
35. George, J.M. (1990), “Personality, affect, and behavior in groups”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 75 No. 2, pp. 107-16.
36. Georgopoulos, B.S. and Mann, F.C. (1962), The Community General Hospital, Macmillan, New York, NY.
37. Goldstein, D.K. and Rockart, J.F. (1984), “An examination of work-related correlates of job satisfaction in programmer/analyst”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 103-15.
38. Goodman, P.S., Devadas, S. and Hughson, T.L. (1988), “Groups and productivity: analyzing the effectiveness of self-managing teams”, in Ed. Campbell, J.P., Ed. Campbell, R.J., et al. (Eds), Productivity in Organizations, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
39. Guinan, P.J., Cooprider, J.G. and Faraj, S. (1998), “Enabling software development team performance during requirement definition: a behavioral versus technical approach”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 9, pp. 101-25.
40. Guzzo, R.A. and Dickson, M.W. (1996), “Teams in organizations: recent research on performance and effectiveness”, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 47, pp. 307-38.
41. Hackman, J.R. (1987), “The design of work teams”, in Ed. Lorsch, J.W.E. (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
42. Handy, C. (1995), “Trust and the virtual organization”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 73 No. 3, pp. 40-50.
43. Henderson, J.C. and Lee, S. (1992), “Managing I/S design teams: a control theories perspective”, Management Science, Vol. 38 No. 6, pp. 757-77.
44. Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA.
45. Hollingshead, A., McGrath, J. and O'Connor, K. (1993), “Group task performance and communication technology: a longitudinal study of computer-mediated versus face-to-face groups”, Small Group Research, Vol. 24, pp. 307-33.
46. Iacono, C.S. and Weisband, S.P. (1997), “Developing trust in virtual teams”, Proceedings of the 30th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
47. James, L.R., Demaree, R.G. and Wolf, G. (1984), “Estimating within group interrater reliability with and without response bias”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 69, pp. 58-98.
48. Janz, B.D., Colquitt, J.A. and Noe, R.A. (1997), “Knowledge worker team effectiveness: the role of autonomy, interdependence, team development, and contextual support variables”, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 877-904.
49. Jarvenpaa, S. and Ives, B. (1994), “The global network organization of the future”, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 10 No. 4, pp. 25-58.
50. Jarvenpaa, S. and Leidner, D. (1999), “Communication and trust in global virtual teams”, Organization Science, Vol. 10 No. 6, pp. 791-815.
51. Jarvenpaa, S., Knoll, K. and Leidner, D. (1998), “Is anybody out there? Antecedents of trust in global virtual teams”, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 29-64.
52. Johansson, C., Dittrich, Y. and Juustila, A. (1999), “Software engineering across boundaries: student project in distributed collaboration”, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol. 42, pp. 286-96.
53. Kaiser, P., Tullar, W. and McKowen, D. (2000), “Student team projects by internet”, Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 63, pp. 75-82.
54. Kayworth, T.R. and Leidner, D.E. (2000), “The global virtual manager: a prescription for success”, European Management Journal, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 183-94.
55. Kayworth, T.R. and Leidner, D.E. (2001/2002), “Leadership effectiveness in global virtual teams”, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 7-41.
56. Kim, Y. and Lee, B. (1995), “R&D project team climate and team performance in Korea: a multidimensional approach”, R&D Management, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 179-96.
57. Kirsch, L.J. (1997), “Portfolios of control modes and IS project management”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 215-39.
58. Kraut, R.E. and Streeter, L.A. (1995), “Coordination in software development”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 69-81.
59. Lea, M. and Spears, R. (1992), “Paralanguage and social perception in computer-mediated communication”, Journal of Organizational Computing, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 321-41.
60. Lipnack, J. and Stamps, J. (1997), Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations with Technology, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY.
61. Lurey, J. and Raisinhgani, M. (2001), “An empirical study of best practices in virtual teams”, Information & Management, Vol. 38, pp. 523-44.
62. McDonough, E., Kahn, K. and Barczak, G. (2001), “An investigation of the use of global, virtual, and collocated new product development teams”, The Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 110-20.
63. McGrath, J.E. (1982), “Dilemmatics: the study of research choices and dilemmas”, in Ed. McGrath, J.E., Ed. Martin, J. and Ed. Kulka, R.A. (Eds), Judgement Calls in Research, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
64. Majchrzak, A., Rice, R.E., Malhotra, A., King, N. and Ba, S. (2000), “Technology adaption: the case of a computer-supported inter-organizational virtual team”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24 No. 2, p. 600.
65. Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., Carman, R. and Lott, V. (2001), “Radical innovation without collocation: a case study at Boeing-Rocketdyne”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 229-49.
66. Maznevski, M.L. and Chudoba, K.M. (2000), “Bridging space over time: global virtual team dynamics and effectiveness”, Organization Science, Vol. 11 No. 5, pp. 473-92.
67. Mumford, E. and Weir, M. (1979), Computer Systems in Work Design – The ETHICS Method, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
68. Ouchi, W.G. (1977), “The relationship between organizational structure and control”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 22 No. 1.
69. Ouchi, W.G. (1979), “A conceptual framework for the design of organizational control mechanisms”, Management Science, Vol. 25 No. 9, pp. 833-48.
70. Passmore, W.A. (1988), Designing Effective Organizations: The Socio-technical Systems Perspective, Wiley, New York, NY.
71. Pearce, J.A. and Ravlin, E.C. (1987), “The design and activation of self-regulating work groups”, Human Relations, Vol. 40, pp. 751-83.
72. Pinto, M.B., Pinto, J.K. and Prescott, J.E. (1993), “Antecedents and consequences of project team cross-functional cooperation”, Management Science, Vol. 39 No. 10, pp. 1281-97.
73. Powell, A., Piccoli, G. and Ives, B. (2004), “Virtual teams: a review of current literature and directions for future research”, Database for Advances in Information Systems, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 6-36.
74. Qureshi, S. and Vogel, D. (2001), “Adaptiveness in virtual team teams: organisational challenges and research direction”, Group Decision and Negotiation, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 27-46.
75. Rice, R. and Love, G. (1987), “Electronic emotion”, Communication Research, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 85-108.
76. Rice, R. and Williams, F. (1984), “Theories old and new: the study of new media”, in Ed. Rice, R. et al. (Eds), The New Media, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
77. Robey, D., Huoy, M.K. and Powers, C. (2000), “Situated learning in cross-functional virtual teams”, IEE Transaction on Professional Communication, Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 55-66.
78. Rousseau, D.M. (1985), “Issues of level in organizational research: multi-level and cross-level perspectives”, in Ed. Cummings, L. and Ed. Staw, B. (Eds), Research in Organizational Behavior, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 1-37.
79. Sarker, S. and Sahay, S. (2002), “Information systems development by US-Norwegian virtual teams: implications of time and space”, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
80. Snell, S.A. (1992), “Control theory in strategic human resource management: the mediating effect of administrative infromation”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 35 No. 2.
81. Sproull, L. and Kiesler, S. (1986), “Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication”, Management Science, Vol. 32 No. 11, pp. 1492-512.
82. Suchan, J. and Hayzak, G. (2001), “The communication characteristics of virtual teams: a case study”, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol. 44, pp. 174-86.
83. Sundstrom, E., DeMuse, K.P. and Futrell, D. (1990), “Work teams: applications and effectiveness”, American Psychologist, Vol. 45, pp. 120-33.
84. Tan, B., Wei, K., Huang, W. and Ng, G. (2000), “A dialogue technique to enhance electronic communication in virtual teams”, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol. 43 No. 2, pp. 153-65.
85. Taylor, J. and Bowers, D. (1972), Survey of Organizations: A Machine-Scored Standardized Questionnaire Instrument, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
86. Townsend, A., DeMarie, S. and Hendrickson, A. (1996), “Are you ready for virtual teams?”, HR Magazine, Vol. 41 No. 9, pp. 122-6.
87. Townsend, A., DeMarie, S. and Hendrickson, A. (1998), “Virtual teams: technology and the workplace of the future”, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 12, pp. 17-29.
88. Van Ryssen, S. and Hayes Godar, S. (2000), “Going international without going international: multinational virtual teams”, Journal of International Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 49-60.
89. Victor, B. and Stephens, C. (1994), “The dark side of the new organizational forms: an editorial essay”, Organization Science, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 479-82.
90. Vogel, D., Genuchten, M., Lou, D., Verveen, S., van Eekhout, M. and Adams, T. (2001), “Exploratory research on the role of national and professional cultures in a distributed learning project”, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 114-25.
91. Walther, J. (1995), “Relational aspects of computer-mediated communication: experimental observations over time”, Organization Science, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 186-203).
92. Walther, J.B. and Burgoon, J.K. (1992), “Relational communication in computer mediated interaction”, Human Communication Research, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 50-889.
93. Warkentin, M.E. and Beranek, P.M. (1999), “Training to improve virtual team communication”, Information Systems Journal, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 271-90.
94. 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, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 975-96.