Exploring m-leader affordances: team leaders and mobile technologies

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine how mobile technologies impact virtual team leaders and provides insight into how mobile technologies afford leaders varied capacity to accomplish their team work. Design/methodology/approach The author addresses the research questions by assessing a large, qualitative data set drawn from surveyed mobile team leaders, analyzing the data using Leximancer software to explore naturally emerging concepts and then interpreting the data thematics using axial coding. Findings In addition to demonstrating that virtual team leaders are well aware they use mobile technologies regularly, this paper also suggests e-leaders be known as m-leaders, clarifies the entanglements of mobility and leadership practices and offers insight into the m-leader affordance dimensions of multimediality, multimodality, multichronicity and multimotility. Originality/value This paper is among the first to investigate team leaders relative to mobile technology as well as what such technology offers m-leaders and mobile teams. Additionally, the size of the data set provides unique insight into m-leaders’ experiences across myriad sectors.

An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19

“…To ensure that virtual teams can adapt rapidly, they must have adequate training on the technology and the work processes afforded by the technology (Rice et al, 2007). Gilstrap (2019) explored how mobile technologies can afford team leadership. Team leaders can use mobile phone affordances to 1) perceive team environments across physical and nonphysical spaces, 2) use multiple communication processes, 3) complete collective tasks at varying times and speeds, and 4) understand the movements of people, technology, and networks.…”