Leadership and virtual team performance: A meta-analytic investigation

Virtual team-cooperation from home-office: a quantitative diary study of the impact of daily transformational- and passive-avoidant leadership - and the moderating role of task interdependence

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the workforce moved from office setting to home-office and virtual teamwork. Whereas the relationship between leadership and team cooperation in physical settings is well documented - less is known about how daily virtual team cooperation is influenced by daily constructive as well as destructive leadership, and how intervening mechanisms influence this relationship. In the present study, we test the direct effect of daily transformational- and passive avoidant leadership, respectively, on the daily quality of virtual team cooperation - and the moderating effect of task interdependence. Using virtual team cooperation as outcome, we hypothesized that (a) transformational leadership relates positively to virtual team cooperation, (b) passive-avoidant leadership relates negatively, and (c) moderated by task interdependence. Our hypotheses were tested in a 5-day quantitative diary study with 58 convenience sampled employees working from home in virtual teams. The results show that virtual team cooperation is a partially malleable process - with 28% variation in daily virtual team cooperation resulting from within team variation from day to day. Surprisingly, the results of multilevel modeling lend support only to the first hypothesis (a). Taken together, our findings suggest that in virtual settings, inspirational and development-oriented transformational leadership plays a key role in daily team cooperation, while passive-avoidance has little impact - independently of task interdependence. Hence, in virtual team settings, the study shows that "good is stronger than bad" - when comparing the negative effects of destructive leadership to the positive effect of constructive and inspirational leadership. We discuss the implications of these findings for further research and practice.

Sharing leadership behaviors in virtual teams: effects of shared leadership behaviors on team member satisfaction and productivity

Purpose

Virtual collaboration in teams becomes increasingly popular at work. With the advantages of working in virtual teams come leadership challenges for which the shared leadership theory is discussed as a potential solution. While previous empirical studies investigating shared leadership in virtual teams generally confirm positive effects on team outcomes, this study aims to investigate in detail the leadership behaviors that are typically shared in these settings and how these shared leadership behaviors affect individual level outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Individuals from different teams participated in a questionnaire study (n = 411). Structural equation modeling was used to assess the effects of shared task- and relations-oriented leadership behaviors on team member’s subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership.

Findings

Results indicate that shared task-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant positive effect on subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership, while relations-oriented leadership behaviors have a significant negative effect. A hypothesis stipulating a moderating effect of task interdependence was not confirmed.

Practical implications

Practical implications include that in virtual teams with hierarchical organizational structures, it may be recommended that task-oriented leadership behaviors are shared among team members, whereas relations-oriented leadership behaviors should remain the responsibility of the official leader.

Originality/value

The findings complement previous research with new insights on behavioral dimensions of shared leadership and their effects on outcomes on the level of the individual.

The effect of distributive justice climate on virtual team performance: A moderated mediation model

Based on the social interdependence theory, we proposed that the distributive justice climate affects virtual team performance via high-quality relationships, and then we investigated the boundary effect of team proactive personality. The data used in this study were collected in China, including 327 virtual team members that belonged to 75 teams. The following results are obtained: (1) Distributive justice climate and high-quality relationships have significant positive effects on virtual team performance. (2) High-quality relationships mediate the relationship between the distributive justice climate and virtual team performance. (3) Team proactive personality strengthens the direct effect of the distributive justice climate on high-quality relationships. (4) Team proactive personality strengthens the indirect effect of the distributive justice climate on virtual team performance through high-quality relationships. These empirical results have important theoretical significance for team climate construction, personnel selection, and team performance promotion.

Cohesion as a cardinal antecedent in virtual team performance: a meta-analysis

Purpose

Advances in information technology have revolutionised the working environment. The concept of working in virtual teams was in existence in the developed part of the globe since 1960s. In developing economies, it emerged in the recent decades and gained impetus during the ongoing pandemic. This paper aims to propose examining the relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance with the help of meta-analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

On published research, combined random effect meta-analysis and moderator analysis were done with the aid of Meta-essential 1.5 software. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses was designed for systematic meta-analysis.

Findings

The meta-analysis shows significant effect of cohesion on virtual team performance (r = 0.40, p < 0.000). Study outcomes indicate a positive relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance. High heterogeneity was found and moderator analysis was performed to examine the heterogeneity.

Research limitations/implications

According to the findings, the performance of teams of different sizes, tenure and occupation should not be viewed as equivalent. Results of the study can be generalised to business (employees), education (students) and online gaming teams.

Practical implications

Managers should be aware of cohesion concerns in work process because they may foreshadow future performance challenges or reflect other organisational issues affecting virtual team performance. The relationship between team cohesion and team performance is predicted by team occupation, size and time.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is a first attempt to undertake meta-analysis to study the relationship between team cohesion and virtual team performance.

Refining virtual cross-national research collaboration: drivers, affordances and constraints

Purpose

The study aims to explore and explain the affordances and constraints of two-mode virtual collaboration as experienced by a newly forming international research team.

Design/methodology/approach

This is self-reflective and action-oriented research on the affordances and constraints of two-mode virtual collaboration. In the spirit of professional development, the authors (nine researchers at different career stages and from various counties) engaged in a joint endeavour to evaluate the affordances and constraints of virtual collaborations in light of the recent literature while also researching the authors' own virtual collaboration during this evaluative task (mid-January–April 2021). The authors used two modes: synchronous (Zoom) and asynchronous (emails) to communicate on the literature exploration and recorded reactions and emotional responses towards existing affordances and constraints through a collective journal.

Findings

The results suggest both affordances in terms of communication being negotiable and evolving and constraints, particularly in forming new relations given tools that may not be equally accessible to all. Journaling during collaborations could be a valuable tool, especially for virtual collective work, because it can be used to structure the team supported negotiation and discussion processes, especially often hidden processes. It is evident that the role of a leader can contribute to an alignment in the assumptions and experiences of trust and consequently foster greater mutual understanding of the circumstances for productive team collaborations.

Originality/value

The findings of this study can inform academics and practitioners on how to create and facilitate better opportunities for collaboration in virtual teams as a rapidly emerging form of technology-supported working.