
Working in virtual teams
Project Brief
In a world characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasingly flexible workplaces, highly capable information and communication technologies have created the possibility of work environments strongly influenced by technology-mediated-communication. This is reflected in the high prevalence of so-called virtual teams–that is, teams working on interdependent tasks even under conditions of geographical and/or organizational dispersion. Moreover, these advancements have spurred both a societal as well as academic interest in designing future jobs and teamwork in a way that both workers and organizations can benefit from.
Albeit the strong conceptual overlap of team virtuality and work design from a socio-technical systems approach, little has yet been done to build bridges between the individual-level focus on e.g., job characteristics and the team-/group-centered perspective of autonomous (virtual) work groups and socio-technical systems theory. In this research project, we aim to combine these two research streams to gain a better understanding of how team virtuality and work design affect each other as well as team - and individual-level outcomes.
On 17 August 2020, our CTWD team (Dr Florian Klonek and Cecilia Runneboom) co-facilitated with Dr Lisette Kanse in a session called “Working in virtual teams” in Unit PSYC5556 (Work Design). We recorded the session and reflected on the virtual team simulation below:
Contact for more information: Florian Klonek
Faculty:
Florian Klonek Sharon Parker
Partners:
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Lisa Handke (Free University Berlin)
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Tom O’Neill (University of Calgary)
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Patricia Costa (University Institute of Lisbon)
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Lisette Kanse (UWA)
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Serena Wee (UWA)
Publications:
Handke, L., Costa, P., Klonek, F.E., O’Neil, T., & Parker, S. (2020). Team perceived virtuality: An emergent state perspective. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology (Advanced online publication). Doi: 10.1080/1359432X.2020.1806921
Handke, L., Klonek, F.E., Parker, S., & Kauffeld, S. (2020). Interactive effects of team virtuality and work design on team functioning. Small Group Research, 51(1), 3-47. doi:10.1177/1046496419863490
