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Scholars have identified several predictors of learner satisfaction, but little research addresses the impact of intragroup conflict in a virtual learning context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potentially deleterious effects of perceived intragroup relationship conflict on virtual learners’ intention to re-enroll.

Data were systematically collected from virtual learners using an online questionnaire and then analyzed by multiple regression models.

The results show that emotional expressiveness is an antecedent to perceived intragroup relationship conflict, and the relationship is moderated by individuals’ perceived enjoyment of computer-mediated communication. Virtual learners with a higher emotional expressiveness (i.e. extraverts) experience higher perceived relationship conflict, which in turn, lowers their intention to re-enroll.

The study confirms the antecedent and consequence of perceived intragroup relationship conflict in a virtual learning context.

Educational institutions and businesses may use three proposed strategies to deal with intragroup relationship conflict.

The study contributes to the limited knowledge on how to effectively manage virtual learning interactions by educational institutions and businesses.

This paper aims to determine the impact of perceived virtuality on team dynamics and outcomes by adopting the Input-Mediators-Outcome (IMO) framework. Further, it also investigates the mediating role of team processes and emergent states.

The authors collected survey data from 315 individuals working in virtual teams (VTs) in the information technology sector in India using both offline and online questionnaires. They performed the analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

The authors investigated two sets of hypotheses – both direct and indirect (or mediation interactions). Results show that psychological empowerment and conflict management are significant in managing VTs. Also, perceived virtuality impacts team outcomes, i.e. perceived team performance, team satisfaction and subjective well-being.

The interplay between the behavioural team process (conflict management) and the emergent state (psychological empowerment) was examined. The study also helps broaden our understanding of the various psychological variables associated with teamwork in the context of VTs.

Findings from this study will aid in assessing the consequences of virtual teamwork at both individual and organisational levels, such as guiding the design and sustainability of VT arrangements, achieving higher productivity in VTs, and designing effective and interactive solutions in the virtual space.

The study examined the interplay between behavioural team processes (such as conflict management) and emergent states (such as psychological empowerment). The study also theorises and empirically tests the relationships between perceived virtuality and team outcomes (i.e. both affective and effectiveness). It may serve as a guide to understanding team dynamics in VTs better.

This exploratory study attempts to enhance the current understanding of the research and practice of VTs within a developing economy.

This paper aims to explore the interactive influence of conflict, task interdependence and cooperation on individual perceptions of team virtualness levels. The study attempts to provide additional insight regarding how or why virtual structures might develop in teams with co-located team members.

Data were collected from 355 upper-level business students assigned to the same team in four class integrated business courses. Moderated hierarchical regression was utilized in examining the moderating role of cooperation with conflict and task interdependence in predicting virtualness.

Cooperation positively moderates the relationships between relationship conflict and perceived virtualness and between perceived task interdependence and perceived virtualness. In addition, conditional support exists for a cooperation and process conflict interaction in predicting virtualness.

Many teams are mandated to be virtual either by management direction, task and resource requirements or by necessity due to being geographically dispersed. However, additional factors may influence the level of virtualness in teams with co-located members. This study provides preliminary evidence that an individual’s experiences in teams influences the individual’s views regarding the virtual structure of his or her team.

This paper aims to examine the influence of the level of team virtuality on the effects of intra‐team conflicts on team performance, which have hardly been investigated.

A framework is proposed based on the extent to which team members use communication media to coordinate their actions and execute their tasks, taking into account the extent to which the communication media are synchronous and the extent to which the communication media convey para‐verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication. Data of 49 teams with 172 team members were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression analysis.

The level of team virtuality influences the relation between intra‐team conflict and perceived team performance. The higher the level of team virtuality, the greater the positive impact of task conflict on perceived team performance. In teams with a low level of virtuality task conflict has a negative impact on perceived team performance, and in high virtual teams task conflict has a positive impact. In addition, process conflict has a negative impact on perceived team performance.

The present study provides a framework for the effects of the level of team virtuality that can be used in further research and has implications for practice.

The study shows the effects of the level of team virtuality on team performance, which is important considering the emerging use of virtual communication tools in organizations.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership behaviors of managers of virtual teams (VTs), particularly in the areas of trust building and conflict management. This study aims to expand the research of VT performance by offering first-person accounts from VT leaders on the strategies implemented to drive VT performance.

This study used a grounded theory approach to examine the leadership behaviors through in-depth interviews with eight field managers of VTs employed by different technology companies. Interview questions focused on trust-building and conflict management techniques. This structured qualitative study incorporates elements of narrative inquiry interwoven in the findings.

Building a high-trust environment was found to be critical to VT performance. VT managers indicated that effective conflict resolution skills were also important.

Although the sample size is within the suggested range for a valid phenomenological study, the results may lack generalizability. Participants were limited to the technology industry; leaders of high-performing VTs in other industries could offer differing results.

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented to build trust and resolve conflict. A lack of holistic training programs for the VT leader is also considered along with suggestions for future research and implications for the VT managers.

This study’s contribution is the exploration and identification of innovative techniques that VT managers implemented that drive VT performance, particularly related to building high levels of trust and managing conflict effectively. Practices are suggested whereby both the VT leader and the organization take an active role in ensuring that the VT has the opportunity to perform optimally.

This paper aims to explore the role of goal‐oriented attitudes and behaviors as antecedents of conflict management and the subsequent impact of conflict management on team outcomes in virtual teams. Of particular interest is the role of “commitment to team goals” as a predictor of successful conflict management and the subsequent impact of conflict management on team outcomes.

This paper describes the results from a quasi‐experimental study examining the relationships among commitment to team goals, conflict management and team outcomes in virtual teams. First, it provides an in depth review of relevant empirical findings. Next, it describes a study examining the relationships between three sets of variables: commitment to team goals; conflict management; and team outcomes (performance and attitudinal) in the context of virtual teams. Data were collected from 141 students grouped in 39 teams size 3 to 4 that were part of four cohorts of an Engineering Management course.

The results provide some preliminary evidence that conflict management mediated the relationships between goal commitment and team outcomes. Results suggest that commitment to team goals is a significant predictor of successful conflict management. Findings also suggest that teams that are more actively involved in preventing and solving their conflict experience a significant increase in the relationship between commitment to team goals and team performance, suggesting that use of effective conflict management can support team effectiveness in the context of virtual teams. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future research are presented.

This paper sheds some light into the role conflict as a mediator on the relationship between goal commitment and virtual team effectiveness. It provides preliminary evidence that conflict management plays a critical role in enhancing virtual team effectiveness.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation has led to the emergence of virtual teams in all organizations, and the role of leadership has become more pertinent. The current research focuses on understanding the factors for better team performance in virtual teams. Based on the contingency perspective, the behavioral complexity in leadership (BCL) theory is the most appropriate as BCL requires the leader to demonstrate multiple contrasting leadership behaviors according to the situation. Both internal as well external roles were explored, which could facilitate better communication quality and role clarity to increase interpersonal trust and leadership effectiveness in the current crisis.

Data were collected from employees who have worked in virtual teams during the crisis and who have experience of working in a virtual team environment. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed, and 175 were received. A path model was built applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Communication quality has come as a partial mediator for the relationship between internal and external leadership roles and trust. Role clarity fully mediated the relationship between external leadership roles and conflict. Internal and external leadership roles showed a significant effect on leadership effectiveness, which were further related to team performance in virtual teams. Additionally, synchronous technology was used more by virtual teams.

The study did not examine cultural differences or cultural adaptation in virtual teams. Instead of the BCL theory, future research may apply attribute-based or relational-based theory to examine leadership roles in virtual team performance.

Using the BCL theory, the current study contributes to an understanding of virtual team performance and the internal as well as external role of leaders. This is relevant in an environment of extreme ambiguity such as COVID-19.

The purpose of this paper is to examine which communication contexts – virtual or traditional interactions – is more disruptive or beneficial to the effects of intragroup conflicts on team performance.

A laboratory experiment was conducted comparing 22 face‐to‐face (FTF) teams, 22 videoconference (VC) teams and 22 computer‐mediated communication (CMC) teams over a month.

Results showed that VC teams are the highest performing teams and CMC teams the lowest. However, when task conflict increases VC team performance diminishes at the first stage of the teamwork. FTF team performance is also improved by task conflict, but also by process conflict. After a period where team members develop teamwork experience, relationship conflict and process conflict damage more seriously team performance in CMC teams than in FTF teams. In conclusion, traditional teams and virtual teams behave in different ways, but also there are differences between VC and CMC teams.

This study concludes with a discussion of the obtained results in terms of their implications for traditional and virtual team managers, taking into account the limitations provided by the student sample used.

The paper sheds light on the beneficial impact of task conflict and process conflict on team performance in traditional contexts in several stages of teamwork, and it provides new evidence for hopeful expectations for virtual teams.

This chapter reviews research on group conflict from three perspectives. First, a development perspective of group conflict understands conflict as a natural part of group history. This view emphasizes progress through conflict as a precondition for group growth and productivity. Second, an instrumental perspective of group conflict differentiates between functional and dysfunctional conflict. Research in this area focuses on the preconditions for functional conflict while reducing the likelihood of dysfunctional conflict. Finally, a political perspective situates conflict as tension between advantaged and disadvantaged social groups. The focus of this view is on empowering marginalized voices in groups. After examining these three perspectives, the chapter highlights how each might approach conflict in potentially nuanced contexts such as intergroup conflict, virtual teams, and third-party resolutions.

This study aims to focus on model development to analyse key factors affecting trust in virtual project teams (VPTs).

A questionnaire survey was conducted on construction professionals participating in virtual teams. Structural equation modelling technique was performed to establish the effect of relevant factors on trust-building in VPTs.

Team performance is highly affected by the trust among the team members. Trust building can be enhanced by improving the quality of team communication, organisation culture, team bonding and team members’ characteristics.

The model developed in this study would benefit team productivity and team members’ learning in VPTs.