Globalization, global competitive market forces and technological progress have made Geographically Distributed Development (GDD) possible and a necessity for most companies in the world. The software industry has consistently been at the forefront of exploring and implementing this business model. This thesis studies the key drivers of GDD, identifies the major challenges which global virtual teams face and existing frameworks for successful global virtual teams. A case study is used to validate the challenges and concerns of managing a global virtual team and a framework is proposed to help overcome the challenges and enable successful global software development. / text

The purpose of this paper is to explore group creative processes in a virtual environment to better understand how virtual communication influences creativity. After reviewing literature, a theoretical foundation in creativity was established and with three common themes derived: Task motivation and task orientation, social environment and participation, and communication. This was coupled with a review of current virtual team interaction theories, demonstrating intersections between them. The method used was a qualitative exploration using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted via VOIP, with notes and recordings taken for further analysis. Analysis was conducted on the three common creative themes viewing virtualization as the mediator. Trends emerged demonstrating that asynchronous communication had a substantial influence on group creative processes. Conversely, virtual teams employing real-time communication found little influence on the creative process. Other anecdotal trends can be seen regarding motivation and social environment. This paper identifies key areas where virtualization influences the group creative process, and provides a base for future suggested research.

As the world becomes more globalized and information technology develops more rapidly, companies are increasingly exploring the benefits of using virtual teams to work on projects that allow them to achieve their objectives. This phenomenon though keeps raising questions regarding the best practices in selection and management of employees whose work would be mostly conducted in virtual settings instead of traditional co-located teams. We have investigated the conditions of virtuality, identifying its benefits and challenges and came up to a conclusion that in order to be an effective virtual team member, a special set of skills and abilities may be needed. The central question of this study is: What individual knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that comprise virtual competence (IVC) should the virtual project team members possess, which could contribute to overcoming challenges of the virtual environment? To answer this question a variety of theories on a virtual team, professional competencies, team management and project management were examined. Quantitative research has been utilized to measure the relationship between the conceptualised construct of individual virtual competence and individual work outcomes in a project that is conducted by distributed global teams. Data on the skills of the individuals conducting their work in virtual IT project settings were collected with an online survey which was distributed among the chosen sample. The results of the survey indicated that the most important characteristics that contribute to overcoming challenges of virtuality are self-efficacy, social, and media skills, which also have a positive reflection on the individual work performance and job satisfaction. There are also interesting results regarding the effect of demographic characteristics on variables when compared with the results from the similar study conducted with a different group of respondents. In the end, a revised model of individual virtual competence is proposed that can shed some light on its impact on job performance and job satisfaction of an individual working in virtual project teams.

The advancements in technology have enabled contemporary organisations to work remotely, and this work structure is increasingly being adopted by more industries. This forces organisations to implement global virtual teams, that despite differences in geographic locations, time zones and cultures, are obligated to work towards organisational goals. It is possible to identify both opportunities and challenges for leaders within organisations. These can be viewed from various organisational perspectives, although one of the most recurring topics for leaders to consider when managing global virtual teams, is the notion of ​trust. ​Trust is argued to be one of the fundamental constituents for teams to work effectively. Even though the use of global virtual teams is becoming more prevalent, research on trust in regard to virtual teams is limited. Prior research argues that leadership is the key success factor for determining the level of trust in global virtual teams. 

    However, there is a research gap on specifically how leaders work in terms of the specific actions that are taken in order to facilitate for establishing trust. This case study therefore investigates how leaders establish trust in their geographically dispersed virtual teams. 

In order to answer this research question, nine leaders were interviewed through qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews.

Ineffective strategies to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) to support global virtual teams (GVTs) have adversely affected organizations' performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the effective strategies participating GVT managers in 2 organizations in the United States used to integrate ICT to support teams' success. The population comprised managers in New York with at least 3 years of service integrating successful strategies in ICT to support GVT success. Transformational leadership theory was used as the conceptual framework for this study. The data collection process included asking 4 participants semistructured interview questions as well as reviewing archival data from the organizations. Data analysis using mind mapping analysis resulted in 5 major themes: forms of communication, redundancy, inclusion, accessibility, and infrastructure. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to create economic opportunities in developed and underdeveloped countries by incorporating or adapting some or all these strategies to improve efficiencies using ICT to support the success of GVTs. Improving GVT success rates could enable organizations to maintain and grow jobs benefiting employees, families, and communities.

This thesis investigates the role of technology-use mediation in supporting the work of global virtual teams. The work is set in the context of a longer term action research programme into collaborative computing and global virtual teams, initiated by Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and Uppsala University in Sweden. Over the period since 1998, global virtual collaborations involving teams of students from both universities have been conducted annually. This thesis investigates the 2004 collaboration cycle, in which participants from St Louis University Missouri joined the collaboration. This was the first triadic collaboration, and covered Northern, Southern and Western aspects of the globe while traversing three widely divergent time-zones. In spite of the extensive experience in collaboration possessed by the coordinators at all three sites, the results of the global virtual trial were at best mixed. This repeated experience of dissatisfaction in our global virtual collaborations, in spite of the technology being in place has been a primary motivator for this work. Why is global virtual collaboration difficult? What roles and activities are critical? How can we do it better? These are not issues solely to do with the student actors in the global virtual teams, but more to do with the supporting cast, engaged in “activities which involve the shaping of other users activities of [technology] use” (Orlikowski et al., 1995, p.425). Thus came about my interest in exploring the topic of technology-use mediation. This thesis applies a research framework adapted from DeSanctis & Poole’s “Adaptive Structuration Theory” (1994) by the author. Initially applied to “facilitation” in virtual teams “Extended Adaptive Structuration Theory (EAST)” (Clear, 1999a), has undergone further development. The resulting research framework “Technology-use Mediated AST (TUMAST)” is applied here for the first time to investigate technology-use mediation activities performed during the global virtual collaborative trial. A corpus of data based on the email communications of supporting parties to the collaboration is analysed in depth in this study, applying a combination of grounded theoretic and structurational techniques. Thus a very rich and firmly grounded picture of the processes of technology-use mediation is built. This thesis represents the first known in-depth longitudinal study of technology-use mediation in a real global virtual team setting. From this exploratory study some novel theorizations have resulted. Methodologically it demonstrates analysis of technology-use mediation applying the TUMAST framework in a manner that captures the richness and evolution over time of these complex activities. Substantively it proposes a novel theory of “Collaborative Technology Fit (CTF)”. It is hoped that future global virtual team coordinators and researchers may apply the theory in order to map their situation, and diagnose their degree of collaborative alignment on multiple dimensions, thus enabling corrective actions to be taken. While the work arises in a tertiary education context, it reflects the reality of professionals at work in a global virtual team. Its application within other domains remains to be proven, but readings from the literature, and personal experience within global virtual software development teams suggest its wider applicability.

This thesis investigates the role of technology-use mediation in supporting the work of global virtual teams. The work is set in the context of a longer term action research programme into collaborative computing and global virtual teams, initiated by Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand and Uppsala University in Sweden. Over the period since 1998, global virtual collaborations involving teams of students from both universities have been conducted annually. This thesis investigates the 2004 collaboration cycle, in which participants from St Louis University Missouri joined the collaboration. This was the first triadic collaboration, and covered Northern, Southern and Western aspects of the globe while traversing three widely divergent time-zones. In spite of the extensive experience in collaboration possessed by the coordinators at all three sites, the results of the global virtual trial were at best mixed. This repeated experience of dissatisfaction in our global virtual collaborations, in spite of the technology being in place has been a primary motivator for this work. Why is global virtual collaboration difficult? What roles and activities are critical? How can we do it better? These are not issues solely to do with the student actors in the global virtual teams, but more to do with the supporting cast, engaged in “activities which involve the shaping of other users activities of [technology] use” (Orlikowski et al., 1995, p.425). Thus came about my interest in exploring the topic of technology-use mediation. This thesis applies a research framework adapted from DeSanctis & Poole’s “Adaptive Structuration Theory” (1994) by the author. Initially applied to “facilitation” in virtual teams “Extended Adaptive Structuration Theory (EAST)” (Clear, 1999a), has undergone further development. The resulting research framework “Technology-use Mediated AST (TUMAST)” is applied here for the first time to investigate technology-use mediation activities performed during the global virtual collaborative trial. A corpus of data based on the email communications of supporting parties to the collaboration is analysed in depth in this study, applying a combination of grounded theoretic and structurational techniques. Thus a very rich and firmly grounded picture of the processes of technology-use mediation is built. This thesis represents the first known in-depth longitudinal study of technology-use mediation in a real global virtual team setting. From this exploratory study some novel theorizations have resulted. Methodologically it demonstrates analysis of technology-use mediation applying the TUMAST framework in a manner that captures the richness and evolution over time of these complex activities. Substantively it proposes a novel theory of “Collaborative Technology Fit (CTF)”. It is hoped that future global virtual team coordinators and researchers may apply the theory in order to map their situation, and diagnose their degree of collaborative alignment on multiple dimensions, thus enabling corrective actions to be taken. While the work arises in a tertiary education context, it reflects the reality of professionals at work in a global virtual team. Its application within other domains remains to be proven, but readings from the literature, and personal experience within global virtual software development teams suggest its wider applicability.

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology at BYU has been furthering their research on Global Virtual Teams. After Cultural Competence lessons were implemented into the classroom setting in 2010, it was decided that teaching the lessons online asynchronously could have advantages in decreasing the time professors needed to cover the content in class. In 2011, Jennifer Alexander teamed with faculty involved with the NSF grant to design and develop online Cultural Competence lessons. Beginning in August 2011 students at BYU and other cooperating campuses participated in the online Cultural Competence lessons. The online lessons were complete and ready for implementation on time; changes were made after implementation based on feedback given in student interviews; and the lessons are now ready for further development and implementation. The lessons will be shared openly with a global audience through Global Hub beginning in summer 2012.

Current research has established the importance of establishing individual trust in global virtual teams to achieve project success. Global virtual teams (GVTs) emerged as a result of the growth of multi-national corporations (MNCs) conducting business operations in more than one country. This research explores eliminating the need to establish individual trust among the members of short-lived global virtual teams and suggests an institutional trust in the project’s processes can suffice. Beginning with an exploration of various aspects of trust, it draws from the current literature on individual and institutional trust in the real and virtual worlds. The data were gathered using two versions of an online survey administered to global virtual teams working for Infosys®, Inc., a global leader in technology services and consulting. The analysis was limited to small, short-lived Information Technology (IT) virtual teams of four to six members. Survey responses were received from 273 managers and 195 virtual team members. The results found support for institutional trust in the process, established through the team members’ favorable perception of their project’s online processes, as having a significant effect on supporting both individual trust among the team members, as well as ensuring project success. The paper concludes with potential costs and benefits to multi-national companies in their management and training of virtual teams. Finally, I provide suggestions for further research into the elimination of trust building exercises for short-lived virtual teams, as well as implications of these results for academicians and practitioners. Key words: trust, trustworthiness, reliance, process knowledge, multi-national Companies (MNCs), global virtual teams, computer-mediated environments / Business Administration/Strategic Management

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att få en bättre förståelse för hur olika kommunikationsstilarkommer till uttryck i en kontext av globala virtuella team (GVT), genom att undersöka vad deinnebär för teamets effektiva kommunikation. Därutöver undersöks även vilken roll kulturellintelligens (CQ) spelar i sammanhanget. För att granska ämnet har en kvalitativ metodbestående av semistrukturerade intervjuer och Critical Incident Technique använts.Intervjuerna inkluderade medlemmar tillhörande ett GVT från SSAB, såväl som enskildaindivider som arbetar i GVT i andra företag. Resultatet visar att olika kommunikationsstilarinom ett GVT kan leda till missförstånd och därmed hindra den effektiva kommunikationen.Resultatet visar också att CQ kan hjälpa till att minska missförstånd i GVT. / The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how different communicationstyles manifest in the context of global virtual teams (GVT), which is done by looking atwhat they entail for the teams effective communication. In addition to this, the role of culturalintelligence (CQ) in the context is also being explored. To examine this topic, this studyapplied a qualitative method consisting of semi-structured interviews and Critical IncidentTechnique. The interviews conducted included the members of a GVT from the companySSAB, as well as unrelated employees working in GVTs from other companies. The resultsdemonstrate that different communication styles in GVTs can lead to misunderstandings andtherefore hinder effective communication. The results also show that CQ can help reducemisunderstandings in GVTs.