Coordinating Global Virtual Teams: Building Theory from a Case Study of Software Development

Kiely, Gaye; Butler, Tom; Finnegan, Patrick

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-13094-6_23

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Relation between virtual team influencing factors and coordination mechanisms are shown in figure 2. The effectiveness of standards, plans, informal and formal mutual coherence are affected by distance, trust, time zones, cultural differences, and language differences (Kiely et al, 2010). The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of distance, trust, language difference, cultural difference, time difference, knowledge sharing on virtual teams.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing Factors of Team Effectiveness in Global Virtual Teams

Ünal

2023

International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies

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Virtual teams are gaining importance because they have given organisations and employees the ability to work from anywhere in the world without relocating them. The ability to work remotely and collaborate virtually has allowed organisations to expand their reach and tap into a global talent pool. Additionally, COVID-19 has resulted in seeking alternative work arrangements, including the information technology (IT) industry. However, virtual teams also have challenges that can affect team efficiency and effectiveness. Factors such as knowledge sharing, trust, language and cultural differences, distance, and time zone differences can all impact virtual team performance. This research describes several important factors that affect global virtual team efficiency, especially in IT projects, and underlying solutions are addressed to reduce the barriers. By understanding the challenges and implementing effective solutions, organisations can leverage the benefits of virtual teams.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing Factors of Team Effectiveness in Global Virtual Teams

Ünal

2023

International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies

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“…Methodologically, the profile analysis employed in this study has rarely been used in IS research. Given the increasing use of GDTs for software development [Kiely et al 2010;Smite et al 2008] and the challenges involved, our study can add significantly to the literature.…”

Section: Implications For Theorymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…When members had a limited common time frame, a structured team meeting was needed. Explicit mechanisms for coordinating geographically dispersed software development teams Herbsleb and Grinter [1999], Kiely et al [2010], Prikladnicki et al [2004], and Sharma and Krishna [2003] Interview (project managers and team members) Software design, integration plans, and routines are not enough. Developers also heavily rely on informal, ad hoc communication as a means of coordination.…”

Section: A Appendixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such teams are popular in the software development context [Kiely et al 2010;Smite et al 2008], where they allow organizations to exploit time zone differences to extend the working day. Nevertheless, GDTs may not produce the desired benefits if they are unable to overcome the challenges in this form of work, particularly Authors' addresses: J. Sutanto, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; email: jsutanto@ethz.ch; A. Kankanhalli and B. C. Y. Tan, Department of Information Systems, School of Computing, National University of Singapore, Singapore; emails: {atreyi, btan}@comp.nus.edu.sg.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Task Coordination in Globally Dispersed Teams

Sutanto

Kankanhalli

Tan

2015

ACM Trans. Manage. Inf. Syst.

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Task coordination poses significant challenges for globally dispersed teams (GDTs). Although various task coordination mechanisms have been proposed for such teams, there is a lack of systematic examination of the appropriate coordination mechanisms for different teams based on the nature of their task and the context under which they operate. Prior studies on collocated teams suggest matching their levels of task dependence to specific task coordination mechanisms for effective coordination. This research goes beyond the earlier work by also considering additional contextual factors of GDT (i.e., temporal dispersion and time constraints) in deriving their optimal IT-mediated task coordination mechanisms. Adopting the structural contingency theory, we propose optimal IT-mediated task coordination portfolios to fit the different levels of task dependence, temporal dispersion, and perceived time constraint of GDTs. The proposed fit is tested through a survey and profile analysis of 95 globally dispersed software development teams in a large financial organization. We find, as hypothesized, that the extent of fit between the actual IT-mediated task coordination portfolios used by the surveyed teams and their optimal portfolios proposed here is positively related to their task coordination effectiveness that in turn impacts the team's efficiency and effectiveness. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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“…Based on the operationalization, we conclude that language difference is the critical factor affecting socio-cultural distance in GSD. Moreover, from the recent studies, we explore other factors of socio-cultural distance issue and their mitigation strategies, i.e., cultural differences [16], [24], lack of mutual understanding [25], [26], different terminology usage [9], [11], lack of business language skills [27], [28], and no frequent feedback exchange [27], [29]. Even though the mitigation strategies of the issue as mentioned above were already discussed in the literature but not empirically evaluated.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Mitigation Strategies for Socio-Cultural Distance Issues in GSD: An Empirical Study

Javed,

Janjua,

Muhammad Abdulhamid

et al. 2023

IEEE Access

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Global Software Development (GSD) offers several benefits to software development organizations, including reduced development costs, the availability of low-wage and highly skilled employees, and an improved marketplace. Meanwhile, it faces severe communication, coordination, and control issues. The most important of these is the communication issue which is further categorized into socio-cultural, temporal, and geographical issues. Among these issues, researchers believe the socio-cultural issue is the most critical factor and, if not mitigated properly, may lead to software project failure. Although, in the past, many studies have identified socio-cultural distance-related issues, and a few studies proposed mitigation strategies. However, studies have yet to be carried out to prioritize and empirically evaluate all mitigation strategies. Thus the main objectives of this study are: a) to identify socio-cultural distance issues and mitigation strategies through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), b) to empirically evaluate the impact of identified mitigation strategies on identified socio-cultural distance issues through a survey, and c) to prioritize effective mitigation strategies through a recommended Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). A total of six socio-cultural issues and twenty-eight mitigation strategies are identified from the SLR and survey. Out of which, seven mitigation strategies are most effective. This study's findings will help software organizations to overcome socio-cultural distance issues by using the highest priority mitigation strategies to reduce losses.

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Coordinating Global Virtual Teams: Building Theory from a Case Study of Software Development

Cited by 4 publications

References 31 publications

Influencing Factors of Team Effectiveness in Global Virtual Teams

Influencing Factors of Team Effectiveness in Global Virtual Teams

Investigating Task Coordination in Globally Dispersed Teams

The Impact of Mitigation Strategies for Socio-Cultural Distance Issues in GSD: An Empirical Study

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