Organisationsvärlden har under flera år stått inför utmaningen att anpassa sig efter den ökade digitaliseringen som sker i samhället, men när COVID-19 pandemin började sprida sig i världen i början av år 2020 fick många oförberedda företag ändra sina rutiner drastiskt. Studien syftar till att undersöka om och hur ledarskapssrollerna i kreativa team förändras av ett skifte från fysisk till virtuell arbetsmiljö. För att kunna besvara studiens frågeställning har en kvalitativ metod i form av fysiska intervjuer, intervjuer via videosamtal samt intervjuer via mejl använts. Totalt medverkade 12 respondenter på två olika företag, varav fyra av respondenterna hade olika ledarbefattningar och resterande var medarbetare med kreativa roller. Den insamlade datan har transkriberats och analyserats med hjälp av en innehållsanalys. Denna innehållsanalys resulterade i sex olika kategorier; ledarskap, kommunikation, gruppdynamik, motivation, produktivitet och kreativitet. Resultatet visade att ledarna på flera sätt anpassat sina ledarskapsroller efter skiftet från en fysisk till en virtuell arbetsmiljö men även att medarbetarna behövt anpassa sig på olika sätt. Ett virtuellt ledarskap kräver enligt studien mer struktur, tydlighet och medvetenhet än ett fysiskt ledarskap, samtidigt som medarbetarna också fått ett ökat ansvar och självledarskap. Medarbetarna kunde exempelvis i högre grad ses själva planera och överse det dagliga arbetet, samt ta mer egna initiativ till kommunikation och problemlösning. / For many years, organizations have tried to adapt to the increasing digitalization in the world. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread around the world in the beginning of 2020, many unprepared companies had to change their routines drastically. The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how leadership roles in creative teams are affected by a shift from a physical to a virtual work environment. In order to answer the research question a qualitative method with physical interviews, video interviews and interviews through email has been used. A total of 12 respondents participated from two different companies. Four of the respondents had management positions and the remaining were co-workers with creative roles. The collected data has been transcribed and analyzed using a content analysis method. This content analysis method resulted in six different categories; leadership, communication, group dynamics, motivation, productivity and creativity. The findings suggest that the leaders have adapted their leadership roles in several different ways since the shift from a physical to a virtual workplace, and that the co-workers’ roles also have been affected. Based on the results, a virtual leadership seems to require more structure, explicitness and awareness than a physical leadership. The co-workers were also given more responsibility and an increased self- leadership. They planned and reviewed their own daily work, as well as took more initiative when it came to communication and problem solving.

Bakgrund: Utifrån ett företagsekonomiskt perspektiv är förmågan till anpassning en vital egenskap. Organisationens strävan efter stabilitet, konkurrenskraft och utveckling utgör motiv till anpassning av olika slag. I vår samtid är det angeläget att den virtuella arbetsmiljön fungerar väl eftersom att arbetssättet både normaliserats och vidhålls. Den virtuella arbetsmiljön normaliserades radikalt i och med restriktionerna under Covid-19 pandemin, särskilt inom vissa sektorer. Således har den virtuella arbetsmiljön varit etablerad i decennier tillbaka med anledning av den flexibilisering som följt globaliseringen. Inom det företagsekonomiska fältet är tillika kreativitet fundamentalt med allt från enkla problemlösningar till innovation av olika slag. Perspektivet studien antar är kreativitet hos team, eftersom att kreativiteten är starkare kollektivt än individuellt. Emedan den virtuella kontexten blivit vedertagen aktualiserar det att anpassade metoder etableras. Sålunda indikerar stor andel av det som tidigare beforskats att den virtuella arbetsmiljön verkar hämmande för kreativitetens potential. Det sistnämnda med motivering att samhörighet hämmas och individualism ökar när den fysiska samvaron uteblir. Följaktligen är det angeläget att utforska arbetsmetoder som kan främja kreativiteten hos virtuella team trots de upplevda förlusterna som den virtuella arbetsmiljön medför.  Syfte: Studiens syfte är att utforska arbetsmetoder som främjar kreativiteten hos virtuella team.  Metod: Genom kvalitativa intervjuer har arbetsmetoder beträffande hur kreativiteten hos virtuella team kan upprätthålls och främjas utforskats. Intervjufrågorna utgick från något som föranleder kreativitet, så kallade klimatfaktorer, eftersom att det är svårt att mäta och fastställa kreativitet med ett exakt värde. Dataanalysen genomfördes med hjälp av tematisk analys där empirin kodades och utmynnade i teman.  Empiri och slutsats: Respondenternas svar sammanfattades utifrån de sex klimatfaktorerna. Vidare kodades dessa och genererade tre teman som innefattar arbetsmetoder som kan främja och upprätthålla kreativitet hos virtuella team. Det empiriska materialet påvisar att kommunikation i olika form och uttryck essentiellt inom samtliga teman. / Background: From a business perspective, the ability to adapt is a vital trait. There are various kinds of motives for adaptation, for example an organization's pursuit of stability, competitiveness and development. Today it is important that the virtual work environment is well functioning since this way of working has been both normalized and maintained. The virtual work environment was radically normalized as a result of the restrictions during the Covid- 19 pandemic, in certain sectors. Thus, the virtual work environment has been established for decades due to the flexibility that followed globalization. Creativity is fundamental within the field of business economics and a foundation for simple problem solutions to innovation of various kinds. The perspective this study assumes is creativity within teams since creativity is stronger collectively than individually, in a virtual context. As the virtual context has become accepted, it becomes apparent that custom methods are being established. Thus, a large proportion of what has been previously researched indicates that the virtual work environment seems to inhibit the potential of creativity. The justification behind this is that affilition is limited and individualism increases when physical coexistence is absent. Consequently, it is important to identify work methods that promote creativity of virtual teams despite the perceived losses and limitation of affiliation that the virtual work environment entails. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore working methods that promote the creativity of virtual teams. Method: Through qualitative interviews, ways of working that allow creativity within virtual teams to be maintained and promoted have been explored. Since it is difficult to measure and determine creativity, the interview questions were based on things that encourage creativity, so-called climate factors. The data analysis was carried out with the help of thematic analysis where the empirical data was coded and resulted in themes. Empirical data and conclusion: The respondents' answers were summarized based on the six climate factors. Furthermore, these were coded and generated three themes that include appropriate working methods of virtual teams to promote creativity. The empirical material shows that communication in different forms and expressions is essential in all themes.

No description available.

The general aim of this research was to investigate whether a relationship exists between the perceptions of job characteristics, job satisfaction (JS) and organisational commitment (OC) of e-tutors in a virtual work environment in an Open Distance Learning (ODL) university in South Africa. Considering the nature of the virtual work environment and the Job Characteristics Model (JCM), the design of e-tutors’ jobs does not encompass some of the core dimensions. This creates certain distinctive issues in terms of how e-tutors work, relate and communicate with their supervisors and co-workers. This has the potential to negatively affect their levels of JS and OC and increase their intention to leave the organisation. Accordingly, a quantitative survey was conducted on a sample of 279 (n = 279) e-tutors serving contracts at an ODL institution in South Africa. An exploratory factor analysis in the absence of good fit revealed a three-factor model for job characteristics, a two-factor model for JS, and a three-factor model for OC. Moreover, a correlational analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between perceptions of job characteristics, JS, and OC. A bivariate-partial correlation revealed that the relationship between job characteristics and JS is stronger than the relationship between job characteristics and OC. Following these correlations, a regression analysis was done to test the influencing nature of job characteristics on JS and OC. Accordingly, the results revealed that 26% of the effect of JS on OC is mediated by job characteristics. Tests for statistically significant mean differences revealed no significant difference between male and female e-tutors, nor differences in terms of their job tenure. However, in terms of educational background, significant mean differences were found between e-tutors holding undergraduate degrees and those holding postgraduate degrees. In order to determine which colleges differ significantly, multiple comparison tests were done, but the results revealed no significant individual differences. These results are applicable to similar populations and may help to improve the work experiences of other virtual workers. In addition, it is envisioned that they may help to improve human resource management practices in virtual work environments. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)