Global virtual teams (GVTs) are faced with numerous communication and coordination difficulties. This study examined whether peer feedback, implemented via a quasi-experiment, strengthened linkages between GVT communication, coordination, and performance. Drawing upon self-regulation as a critical mechanism underlying team effectiveness, we proposed a model in which the indirect relation between communication and performance, mediated by process coordination, would be stronger as peer feedback intensity increased. The effects of 3 feedback strategies were investigated: (a) feedback given and received only at project completion, (b) feedback given weekly, but not distributed until project completion, and (c) feedback given and received weekly. We examined this model using a large sample of GVTs (n ϭ 1,839 teams; n ϭ 13,224 individuals) and multilevel, multisource data. Results supported a stronger indirect effect between communication frequency and performance, via process coordination, when GVT members gave and received weekly feedback. These findings suggest GVTs should use structured peer feedback systems that allows giving and receiving regular feedback. Further implications for research and practice are considered.
Public Significance StatementGlobal virtual teams (GVTs) are prevalent in today's organizations. Yet despite their commonality, they may suffer from numerous teamwork challenges related to separation in time, geography, and language proficiency. Results of this study suggest that GVTs should use a peer feedback system that allows giving and receiving regular intrateam feedback, as such a system can enhance the relations between communication frequency, coordination, and GVT performance.
Abstract-One of the largest IT challenges in the health and medical fields is the ability to track large numbers of patients and materials. As mobile phone availability becomes ubiquitous around the world, the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) with mobile phones is emerging as a promising solution to this challenge. The decreasing price and increasing availability of mobile phones and NFC allows us to to apply these technologies to developing countries in order to overcome patient identification and disease surveillance limitations, and permit improvements in data quality, patient referral, and emergency response. In this paper, we present a system using NFC-enabled mobile phones for facilitating the tracking and care of patients in a low-resource environment. While our system design has been inspired by the needs of an ongoing project in Karachi, Pakistan, we believe that it is easily generalizable and applicable for similar health and medical projects in other places where mobile service is available.
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