Managing team interpersonal processes through technology: A task-technology fit perspective.

Abstract

This article addresses the broad question, How can virtual teams that manage a majority of their interactions through information and communication technologies (ICTs) be made more effective? Focusing specifically on interpersonal interactions, the task-technology fit paradigm is used as the foundation for a theoretical model that seeks to identify how such teams can match available communication technologies to the different types of interpersonal interactions in which they engage. The authors draw on media synchronicity theory to identify the functionalities of the wide range of ICTs available today, and map these functionalities onto the salient communication needs of 3 key interpersonal processes: (a) conflict management, (b) motivation and confidence building, and (c) affect management. The model also incorporates a temporal dimension examining how the communication needs, and hence, the need for ICT functionality, varies depending on the virtual team's developmental stage. Opportunities for future research arising from the theoretical model are discussed.

Offshore Information Systems Project Success: The Role of Social Embeddedness and Cultural Characteristics

“…We did not evaluate other forms of interaction, such as teleconferencing, phone calls, e-mails, and online chat sessions, for three reasons: some data were not captured by the vendor as it was complex to do so or was against company policy; some data that were captured were not archived by project; and some captured data were not shared with us for privacy and confidentiality reasons. Prior research points to the importance of communication media choice for effective team collaboration (Dennis et al 2008;Maruping and Agarwal 2004). Thus, future research should evaluate the role of both face-to-face meetings and virtual interactions in offshore IS projects.…”

Support of the collaborative inquiry learning process: influence of support on task and team regulation

“…Conveyance refers to the exchange of information and subsequent deliberation on its meaning, whereas convergence represents the development of shared meaning for information. Maruping and Agarwal (2004) argue that convergence processes are best supported by communication environments enabling high immediacy of feedback and low parallelism, such as chat. In contrast, communication environments enabling low immediacy of feedback and high parallelism, such as discussion forums, are posited to support the conveyance process.…”

Upward Influence Tactics in Virtual Work Settings

“…We expect to find that people choose their upward influence tactics according to the technological resources they have available and according to the objectives they are pursuing. This proposition is based on the Media Synchronicity Theory (MST) ( [20], [21]), which proposes that different media have different capabilities, and according those capabilities there are better combinations between media choice and the purposes the employee wants to achieve.…”