Over the past few decades, there has been explosive growth in the use of virtual project teams across organizations for the efficient execution of complex tasks to achieve project objectives. Virtual Project Teams: Geographically distributed team members who combine their efforts to achieve common goals through the use of electronic communication media.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Research Problem
- Introduction
- Purpose of Research
- Research Problem
- Conclusion
Understand how shared leadership can support the demands of complex tasks in virtual project teams. The literature review focuses on the role of technology, as well as the demands of task complexity and how shared leadership can support virtual project teams.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
- Introduction
- Virtual Project Teams
- Background and Understanding
- Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Teams
- IPO Framework for Virtual Teams
- ICT in Virtual Teams
- Task Complexity
- Shared Leadership
- Definition of Shared Leadership
- Measurement of Shared Leadership
- Shared Leadership as a Dynamic, Emergent Process
- Shared Leadership as a Multilevel Process in the IPO Framework
- Empathy
- Significance of Task Complexity and Shared Leadership in Virtual Project
- Research Questions
- Conclusion
While a virtual project team may have a common goal, conflict will occur among team members as a result of. To address this challenge, the authors proposed that virtual project team members "address conflict with the urgency of the moment and with a direct, honest, and transparent approach" (Turesky et al. 2020, p.202).
Chapter 3: Research Questions
Research Question 3: How does sharing of leadership across team members support task complexity in a virtual project team. 2016) suggested that shared leadership is beneficial when solving complex tasks because it is unlikely that a single person will possess the knowledge and expertise required for these tasks. This results in the need for a further understanding of how shared leadership can support complex tasks in virtual project teams by discovering the behaviors associated with this leadership style that will support the successful handling of complex tasks in virtual project teams.
Chapter 4: Research Methodology
- Introduction
- Research Methodology and Design
- Population
- Unit of Analysis
- Sampling Method and Size
- Measurement Instrument
- Data-gathering Process
- Data Analysis Approach
- Quality Controls
- Limitations
- Conclusion
Upon confirmation of the interview date and time, a Microsoft (MS) Teams calendar link was sent to the participant. At the time of the interview, the researcher followed the format of the interview guide (according to Appendix 1) to thank the participants for their time and the signed consent form, explained the purpose of the study and introduced the key constructs in the study to ensure ensure that participants understood the background of the questions.
Chapter 5: Results
Introduction
Description of the Sample
Data preparation and analysis process
In an effort to ensure the reliability of the data preparation as well as to follow the thematic process, the audio recordings of the 15 conducted interviews were transcribed by a professional transcriber, using a manual process of listening to the interview recordings and writing the transcripts. A thematic analysis was conducted where initial open codes were created for each of the interviews using the participants' words taken at face value. A prefix was then added to the codes based on how the various codes were linked and connected.
This process of adding a prefix to the code helped create 20 meaningful categories (known as code sets in Atlas.ti) that had potential relevance to the research questions. A further analysis of this Excel report based on commonalities and coherence led to the formation of themes which provided the insights required to understand the 3 research questions posed. Common and coherent codes were selected and grouped into three colors according to the research question posed.
Triangulation of data between participants, through cross-team analysis, and through examination of the literature review helped to validate and enrich the findings in order to increase the validity of the analysis (Yin, 2003). The final step involved writing the analysis and presenting the themes, which provided clarity in the flow. These categories represented 16 themes that were characterized by the 3 research questions defined in Chapter 3.
Data Validation
Interviewer bias, interpreter bias and response bias should be consistently considered and minimized during interviewing and data analysis (Saunders and Lewis, 2018). Researchers strive to remain faithful to the informant by accurately capturing whatever is relevant in the informant's descriptions. Explanation of the application of the theory; that is, the degree to which the process was inductive (open coding), deductive, or abductive.
The researcher should keep an audit trail that documents the data, methods and decisions made (Seale, 2012). The use of Atlas.ti provided a clear overview of the coding process and Excel was used to display the saturation results. A purposive sampling ensured that the sample contained participants who had the necessary experience to provide the required insights.
The reader's belief in the valid phenomenon observed when compared to literature from other contexts raised. However, teams in both settings have come together for a common purpose, resulting in similar experiences as described in section 4.3 where both Carson et al., (2007) and Gibbs et al., (2017) argued that teams of based on student projects can be. Observations from this study were found to relate to existing literature available from other contexts as identified in the literature review.
Findings in Relation to Research Questions
- Digital Divide
- Flexibility
- Lack of Human Interaction
- Conclusion to Research Question 1
- Research Question 2: How does task complexity affect working in a
- Psychological Safety
- Knowledge Sharing
- Confirmation Bias
- Conflict
- Conclusion to Research Question 2
- Research Question 3: How does the sharing of leadership across
- Shared Leadership
- Participative Leadership
- Situational Leadership
- Trust
- Consensus
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Empathy
- Conclusion to Research Question 3
This was true for circumstances where different technology platforms were used to keep all team members on the same page. Some participants believed that the use of video for virtual project team meetings contributed to a loss of intimacy among team members. Some participants pointed out the importance of one-on-one intimate relationships between team members beyond work.
The purpose of this question was to ascertain whether team members were aware of the dominant leadership styles in their virtual project team. Participative leadership emerged as one of the dominant leadership styles among team members in virtual project teams. Some participants pointed out that team members often volunteered where necessary to take on the leadership role.
It was important for team members to articulate their expectations of each other and communicate continuously in line with the team's vision and goals. They pointed out that team members reached out to each other to seek or offer help and that this was a form of conscious effort to build trust. Participants also highlighted some of the characteristics and conditions that helped build trust between team members.
One of the team members was proficient in technology and took the time to teach other team members how to use different technology tools. We have been able to understand the lifestyle of each of our team members and accommodate each other.
Conclusion
What was important was that there was consistency in leadership and that team members shared the same vision and the environment was conducive for members to express themselves. Participants pointed out that this was an interpersonal matter and needed time and appropriate space to be developed. Some participants explained that consistency in delivering on agreed outputs helped build trust.
According to participants' lived experiences within virtual project teams, achieving consensus proved to be a challenge for some participants, but to overcome this challenge, participants resorted to establishing ground rules in advance.
Chapter 6: Discussion of Results
- Introduction
- Research Question 1: How does technology play a role in the development of
- Conclusion to Research Question 1
- Research Question 2: How does task complexity affect working in a virtual
- Conclusion of Research Question 2
- Conclusion to Research Question 3
- Conclusion
These experiences were consistent with the work of Scoular et al. 2020), who emphasized that cooperation is about team members. Participants also added that the technology allows meetings to be recorded and shared with team members who could not attend the meeting. Lechner and Mortlock (2021) argued that virtual project teams need safe spaces where team members can show their vulnerability and freely face uncomfortable discussions, especially when dealing with complex tasks.
Some participants pointed to the importance of fostering one-on-one intimacy among virtual project team members. Participants D5 and D6 pointed out that some team members in their virtual project team were satisfied working to achieve average results, while others were motivated to achieve top results. Research Question 3: How does sharing of leadership across team members support task complexity in a virtual project team.
This was characterized by the rotation of management roles, the involvement and commitment of all team members and the lack of hierarchy. They also emphasized that there must be an environment where team members feel safe to communicate and freely share their contributions. According to the participants, this required team members to be open to learning and being influenced.
Chapter 7: Conclusions and Recommendations
- Introduction
- Principal conclusions
- Summary for Research Question 1: How does technology play a role in the
- Summary for Research Question 2: How does task complexity affect
- Summary for Research Question 3: How does the sharing of leadership
- Theoretical contribution
- Implications for management and other relevant stakeholders
- Limitations of the research
- Suggestions for future research
- Conclusion
The study also found that the absence of face-to-face interactions resulted in a loss of intimacy among virtual project team members. Virtual project teams can help reduce challenges associated with complex tasks due to time available to digest information and ideas (Eisenberg et al., 2016). This study found that situational, participative, and shared leadership emerged in virtual project teams and had a positive impact on the successful completion of complex tasks (Carson et al., 2007; Scott-Young et al., 2019).
Virtual project team members organized their team capabilities by leaning on their individual strengths to tackle complex tasks (Cao et al., 2012). First, the research contributes to a gap in the literature on the role of technology in virtual project teams (Morrison‐ Smith & Ruiz, 2020). Second, the study contributes to the discipline of virtual project teams by developing the conceptual framework of fundamental elements required in the formation of virtual project teams, as shown in Figure 4.
Future research is also suggested to understand the effects of situational leadership and participative leadership on complex tasks performed in virtual project teams. The accelerated growth in the use of virtual teams has led to a radical shift in virtual collaboration through technology for the efficient delivery of complex tasks by virtual project teams. This study aimed to understand the requirements that team members needed to facilitate their optimized performance, leading to improved team outcomes in the context of virtual project teams when performing complex tasks.
Interview Guide
How has technology supported you in connecting, interacting and building relationships with your team members. What has helped you as a team member to handle complex tasks in a virtual project team. What mechanisms were put in place to ensure understanding and alignment of project goals among all team members.
Which behaviors or traits from the leadership style you have described best support complex tasks. What else contributed to the successful completion of complex tasks in your virtual project team.
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