High-Performance Virtual Teams

In the past several decades, we have seen tremendous advancements in the development of communication technology. Since the invention of the Internet in 1969, there has been rapid development of Internet-based communication tools and technologies. This technology has revolutionized business practices by offering another important and effective channel for communication (Foo & Lim, 1997) and has allowed people to work on projects irrespective of their physical location. One resulting business practice that has been adopted in recent years is virtual teamwork. Virtual teams are groups of individuals who work together in different locations (i.e., are geographically dispersed), work at interdependent tasks, share responsibilities for outcomes, and rely on technology for much of their communication (Cohen & Gibson, 2003). The use of virtual teams has become widespread in organizations, and its use is expected to grow (Martins, Gilson, & Maynard, 2004; Powell, Piccoli, & Ives, 2004).