The Internet Encyclopedia (Volume 3)

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Virtual TeamsVirtual Teams

Jamie S. Switzer,Colorado State University

Introduction 600

Virtual Teams 600

Definition of a Virtual Team 600

Characteristics of a Virtual Team 601

Creation of a Virtual Team 601

Technological Infrastructure Needed

for Virtual Teaming 603

Synchronous Communication Technologies 603

Asynchronous Communication Technologies 604

Groupware 604

Choosing the Correct Technology 605

Impact of Virtual Teams on the Organization 605

Advantages 605

Challenges 606

Conclusion 606

Glossary 606

Cross References 607

References 607

Further Reading 607

INTRODUCTION

Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experi-

enced daily by billions of legitimate operators,

in every nation, by children being taught mathe-

matical concepts....Agraphic representation of

data abstracted from the banks of every com-

puter in the human system. Unthinkable com-

plexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of

the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like

city lights, receding... (Gibson, 1984, p. 51)

William Gibson coined the term “cyberspace” in his

popular 1984 novel Neuromancer. While perhaps not

as dramatically as Gibson’s vivid portrayal, the modern

world now lives and works in cyberspace. Geography, bor-

ders, and time zones are rapidly becoming irrelevant in

the way today’s business is conducted. The role of technol-

ogy, particularly the Internet, is profoundly affecting the

economy, business, and social fabric of interacting and

communicating.

For many reasons, including corporate mergers, glob-

alization, the need to respond rapidly to changing mar-

kets and customer demands, increasing sophistication of

technology, travel costs, and the trend toward flexibility

and mobility in the workforce, organizations must change

from the old ways of doing business to new ways. Part of

this operational shift is for organizations to have their

people perform functional tasks by working in virtual

teams. No longer is colocation necessary for group inter-

action and knowledge sharing. According to researchers

Lipnack and Stamps (2000), virtual teamwork is one of

the answers to the modern problems of 21st century or-

ganizations.

The word “virtual” means “existing or resulting in ef-

fect or essence though not in actual fact, form, or name”

(Webster’s,1984). The concept today has been extended

to suggest the use of telecommunications and computing

technologies. The Internet in particular has made the use

of virtual teams much more effective and desirable. The

concept of the virtual organization, while still evolving,

relies on the movement of information across cyberspace

and new ways of managing people working globally in

virtual teams.

VIRTUAL TEAMS

Definition of a Virtual Team

A virtual team is a “group of people who work interde-

pendently with a shared purpose across space, time, and

organization boundaries using technology” (Lipnack &

Stamps, 2000, p. 18). Virtual teams are geographically

dispersed and culturally diverse, often do not have con-

stant membership, and are completely dependent upon

technology, particularly the Internet. This is directly con-

trary to the traditional notion of what makes an effective

team. But virtual teams address the needs of the new work

environment. The office is where the worker is, not the

other way around. Organizations utilizing virtual teams

can maximize resources and hire the best people for the

job regardless of where they live.

Duarte and Snyder (1999) have identified seven ba-

sic types of virtual teams: networked, parallel, virtual

project/product development, work/production, service,

virtual management, and action. People who collaborate

across time, distance, and organizational boundaries to

achieve a common goal are part of a networked virtual

team. Typically team membership is always changing,

with individuals joining and leaving the team as their par-

ticular expertise dictates.

Parallel virtual teams also work across time, distance,

and organizational boundaries to complete specific as-

signments, tasks, or functions assigned to the team by

the organization. Differing from a networked team in

that the parallel virtual team has a consistent member-

ship, team members usually are working together on

a short-term basis to achieve a specific objective. Vir-

tual parallel teams are effective when the task involves

multinational organizations where a global perspective is

needed.

Similar to networked and parallel teams, virtual project

or product development teams are created to produce a

specific, measurable result, such as a new product. These

types of virtual teams work for a designated period of time,

600