Role of Technology Selection in Supporting Collaboration and Communication in Globally Distributed Virtual Teams

Abstract

The rapidly growing trend of using globally distributed virtual teams has taken a step ahead in the industries where it has been practiced for last few decades. The functionality of these virtual teams is highly affected by the mediation of communication and collaboration technologies. It demands that the team members develop leadership skills associated with technology in order to accomplish the team’s goals and objectives. With a swift increase in the adoption of new technology, virtual teams are able to function in a more systematic way without losing a significant amount of information. However, it is equally important for teams to investigate and select the most advanced technology for efficient communication and coordination in order to avoid issues that come up while collaborating in a virtual setup. This thesis studied the existing literature, a research project that involved students participating in a virtual team setup, and the surveys and submittals collected from those student teams. This study emphasized the existing notion of having technological interactions along with transactional and transformational interactions in a globally distributed virtual environment. A detailed analysis of the data collected was performed, which highlighted the role of technology selection in supporting communication and collaboration within these teams. It also portrayed the emergence of new ideas that supported the team members in selecting the most appropriate communication and collaboration tools and helped in eliminating the existing communication and collaboration issues.