Article | Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior | 2014

Where Global and Virtual Meet: The Value of Examining the Intersection of These Elements in Twenty-First-Century Teams

by Cristina B. Gibson, Laura Huang, Bradley L. Kirkman and Debra L. Shapiro

Abstract

We review prior research that has examined virtuality in teams (e.g., pertaining to the use of electronic media) or the global nature of teams (e.g., national and cultural differences), demonstrating that very few scholars have examined both simultaneously. Given that the global and virtual elements often coincide in the same team, this is a critical gap in research, particularly because these two features may interact in important ways, amplifying or mitigating the effects of each other. After elaborating on potential interactions, we set forth future research directions, which incorporate both global and virtual elements of teams and in doing so, better address the complexity of working in these increasingly common collaborative forms.

Keywords: global virtual teams; cultural diversity; electronic communication; computer-mediated communication; Groups and Teams; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Interactive Communication;

Format: Print Find at Harvard

Citation:

Gibson, Cristina B., Laura Huang, Bradley L. Kirkman, and Debra L. Shapiro. "Where Global and Virtual Meet: The Value of Examining the Intersection of These Elements in Twenty-First-Century Teams." Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 1 (2014): 217–244.

About the Author

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Laura Huang
MBA Class of 1954 Associate Professor of Business Administration
Organizational Behavior

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