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In this chapter, we focus on virtual teams and emotions during postmerger and acquisition (M&A) integration. Our main research question is “How to manage emotions and virtual teams following cross-border M&A?”. We answer this question through the following research subquestions: (1) What virtual interaction can be identified post-M&A?; (2) What emotions arises from virtual communication; and (3) What emotions and challenges do virtual teams encounter following cross-border M&As? This research is based on a single case study. The main findings imply that emotions, trust, and cultural differences play an important role in virtual interaction following a cross-border M&A.

Global virtual teams (GVTs) – composed of members in two or more countries who work together primarily using information and communication technologies – are increasingly prevalent in organizations today. There has been a burgeoning of research on this relatively new organizational unit, spanning various academic disciplines. In this chapter, we review and discuss the major developments in this area of research. Based on our review, we identify areas in need of future research, suggest research directions that have the potential to enhance theory development, and provide practical guidelines on managing and working in GVTs.

The development of personal relationships between team members is recognised as an important factor in enhancing effective working relationships among members of both co‐located and virtual teams. However, little has been written on how to build these online relationships among virtual team members. This paper reports part of a qualitative research study on how facilitators of virtual teams build and maintain online relationships. In particular, the paper examines how virtual team facilitators use Internet‐based and conventional electronic communication channels to build relationships with their virtual team members. The findings suggest that some electronic communication channels are more effective than others in building online relationships. The paper concludes by suggesting that facilitators need to strategically use the channels available to them to effectively build online relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to inform readers on what is known on information processing in virtual teams and to discuss the consequences of these findings for the management of virtual teams.

Systematic review of the literature on information processing in virtual teams based on a general information processing model for teams.

An overview of the most relevant factors that influence the effectiveness of virtual teams is provided.

The review is based on existing literature on virtual teams and it discusses future research directions opened by the conceptualization of virtual teams as information processing systems.

The paper identifies the factors that can improve the effectiveness of information processing in virtual teams.

The general information‐processing model for teams enables a systematic integration of the fragmented literature on virtual teams.

Psychological ownership has been a topic of intense debate for several decades, especially in the digital era. In addition, as part of the digital public domain, virtual communities shape our digital lives. Unfortunately, few studies have examined the communication process in virtual communities from the perspective of psychological ownership. Moreover, information and organization are key aspects of virtual communities. This research aimed to explore the impact of psychological ownership on communication satisfaction from these two perspectives.

I collected 471 responses using a questionnaire. In terms of empirical methods, I developed a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the relationship between psychological ownership and communication satisfaction as well as the mechanism underlying this relationship – namely, information behavior. Specifically, I first examined the relationship between psychological ownership and information behavior. I then developed a comprehensive framework for the double-edged impact of psychological ownership in virtual communities on communication satisfaction.

I found that psychological ownership has a double-edged effect on communication satisfaction based on two types of information behavior in virtual communities. Specifically, organization-based psychological ownership (OPO) positively influences communication satisfaction through information exchange. In contrast, information-based psychological ownership (IPO) negatively impacts communication satisfaction through information-hiding.

The findings of this research demonstrate that psychological ownership has a double-edged effect on communication satisfaction. First, the findings of this study reveal the downsides of psychological ownership, which are not consistent with its beneficial role. Second, the negative effect of psychological ownership with regard to communication in virtual communities also helps explain communication failure in virtual communities. Finally, despite the downsides of psychological ownership in the context of a virtual community revealed by this study, this factor has an overall beneficial effect.

Virtual teams had become a fundamental way to conduct business for organizations to remain competitive and sustain in a global environment. Organizations which willing to understand what makes virtual teams more effective can likely accrue positive results from virtual teams. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what are the factors that impact the performance of virtual team. This study highlights factors that influence virtual team performance, which not been widely studied in developing countries (i.e. Malaysia). This study tests the impact of six factors (coordination, communication, relationship building, cohesion, trust and reward) on team performance.

A quantitative approach via self-administered questionnaire was adopted. A total of 205 questionnaires were successfully collected at the end of the data collection. Structural equation modelling using partial least squares approach (i.e. ADANCO 2.0 software) was then used to assess the relationships among variables in the virtual team.

After ensuring the data have acceptable reliability and validity, structural model assessment was performed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that a significant and positive relationship exists between communication, relationship building, cohesion and trust towards team performance. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between coordination and reward towards team performance.

First, the study may be slightly biased due to the differences in the size of the multinational companies. The result might tend to represent the bigger companies where more virtual teams are available for sampling of this study. Second, the duration of virtual team (long-term and short-term) and the number of sites in the team should be clearly identified. The respondents might have very different experiences and perceptions in different settings of virtual team environment. Therefore, taking care of these characteristics would have provided a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of factors influencing virtual team performance in Malaysia.

The findings from this study can serve as guideline for managers to manage the virtual teams effectively, as well as to optimizes the resources usage and implement the most efficient tools of communication, and subsequently improve the overall efficiency of the teams. This study is useful for researchers, managers and organizations to highlight the factors that contribute to virtual team performance.

The present study has not only extended the use of Media Richness Theory in the context Virtual Team Performance in a developing country but also broadened the previous study through inclusion of other crucial factor, namely, Reward. Given the significant role in the Global marketplace, the understanding of factors influencing virtual team performance in Malaysia using the extended theory of Media Richness would contribute knowledge not only to technology management but also to manufacturing service industry.

Seeks to determine the impact managerial controls have on the effectiveness of virtual teams. Using an experimental design compares self‐directed virtual teams to counterparts where behavior controls are used as a method of managerial control. The data were collected using 51 student teams of three or four members each from three different countries. The results indicate that the most satisfied team members were in virtual teams with effective coordination and communication. Members of self‐directed virtual teams report higher individual satisfaction with the team and project, while different control structures had no significant impact on virtual team performance. Future research should investigate how these findings generalize to organizational workers, rather than just looking at students. This paper is just a first step investigating one type of managerial control: behavior controls. The small amount of research that has been published on virtual teams has primarily concentrated on self‐directed teams. This paper compares results of team effectiveness by looking at both self‐directed virtual teams and virtual teams with behavioral controls enforced.

The aim for this chapter is to better understand the dynamics of social communication processes within Second Life®. Understanding communication processes in 3D online social virtual worlds is vital in embracing contemporary social issues and improving interpersonal and organizational relationships as these environments are rapidly growing in popularity in the education sector. In this chapter, we observed an undergraduate communication class and discussed four powerful interrelated forces behind the students' communication processes: (1) gamer status; (2) avatar appearance; (3) physical proximity; and (4) virtual proximity. Our findings can inform Arts and Science educators in general and Communication instructors in particular about how learners socially communicate and interact within a 3D online social virtual world and how teachers can foster students' communication and collaboration in this environment and support their content creation and collective knowledge building.

Research examining organizational diversity has largely ignored the role corporate web sites play in establishing the tone for diversity in organizations. Serving as “electronic storefronts,” corporate web sites are typically the first point of contact individuals have with an organization. The purpose of this paper is to centralize communication as a critical tool in understanding the strategies corporations use to communicate their diversity philosophy, practices and policies. This virtual ethnographic study examines corporate web sites (n=100) across industries and sectors to capture the strategies organizations use to strategically communicate diversity to a variety of stakeholders.

Taking a virtual ethnographic, this study examines 100 corporate web sites across industries to capture the methods organizations employ to strategically communicate diversity in their respective organization.

Results from this ethnographic study reveal that organizations typically use three strategies in their diversity messages: impression management, persuasion and strategic ambiguity. Strategic ambiguity and the persuasive use of selling, telling and framing their diversity message are ubiquitous in corporate diversity communication. The use of these strategies may have a profound impact on how diversity is perceived within organizations. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

This is one of the first social science/humanistic studies to examine diversity messages on corporate web sites and advances a conceptual framework for electronic diversity communication. Additionally, this project employs a virtual ethnographic approach, a novel, yet contemporary, method.

Applying media synchronicity theory (MST) as a theoretical foundation, this paper aims to examine whether teams using multiple communication modes perform better on a complex intra-team task than those using a single mode.

The authors adopted a mixed-methods explanatory design. Data were collected from 44 teams directly following participation in the Everest Leadership and Team Simulation. Teams were assigned a specific mode of communication: virtual (text-chat only), face-to-face (FTF) or dual (FTF and chat).

No significant differences in team goals achieved were found when comparing dual modes to single modes, counter to predictions based on MST. Qualitative data indicated that FTF communication is dominant and might lead to “medium inertia” when multiple modes are available. FTF teams reported higher perceptions of team effectiveness than text-chat-only teams.

This study was conducted on a small number of teams in an artificial environment; therefore, generalizability is limited. Future research should consider other measures of team performance and test teams in a virtual setting where distance, as well as time, are factors.

FTF communication tends to be dominant to a point where virtual options are ignored, suggesting that greater awareness around communication processes required for complex tasks, and ways to appropriate different media for conveyance or convergence, is key to team performance.

This study highlights the importance of determining processes by which teams shift between media to maximize conveyance and convergence processes. Additionally, distinguishing between objective performance and perceptions of performance highlight an additional challenge for teams that can be explored.