Occurrence and Effects of Leader Delegation in Virtual Software Teams

Abstract

Virtual teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what constitutes effective virtual software team leadership, in particular, the amount of leader delegation that is appropriate in a virtual software-development environment. This study investigates virtual software team leader delegation and explores the impact of delegation strategies on virtual team performance mediated by team motivation, team flexibility and team satisfaction with the team leader. This research is a report of a pilot study run on student teams carried out to refine and test the research constructs and research model for a larger study run in corporations. The study found that virtual team leaders delegate more to competent virtual teams and that such delegation is positively correlated with team member satisfaction with their leader and with team member motivation. Overall, the work provides important information for software-based organizations interested in developing virtual team leadership skills.

Virtual Collaboration: The Skills Needed to Collaborate in a Virtual Environment

“…This is because it is easier to bring together qualified individuals using collaborative technology, than would be to create a team with similar diversity in a face-to-face environment (David, Chand, Newell, & Resende-Santos, 2008;Fruchter, Bosch-Sijtsema, & Ruohomaki, 2010;Fruchter & Ponti, 2010;and Pyoria, 2009). Such added diversity enables VCTs to make better decisions (Anonymous, 2010), by taking advantage of the knowledge, skills, abilities, mindsets, and cultural perspectives of each individual team member (Brake, 2006;David, Chand, Newell, & Resende-Santos, 2008;Fruchter, Bosch-Sijtsema, & Ruohomaki, 2010;Fruchter & Ponti, 2010;Hastings, 2009;Muntean, 2009;Pyoria, 2009;Suduc, Bizoi, & Filip, 2009;and Zhang, et al, 2009). …”

“…To aid the relationship building process, VCTs must create an environment that supports open communication (Zhang et al, 2009), where the members are familiar with one another (Eom, 2009), and where VCTs can engage in active debate (Brake, 2006). In order to create an environment that is conducive to collaboration VCTs must establish a shared context (Cottone, et al, 2009) that unites the diverse members (Hansen, 2009;Innes & Booher, 2010;and Muntean, 2009).…”

“…In order to ensure that everyone is on the same page in the collaborative effort, VCTs must ensure that their communication is simple and easy to understand, that ambiguity is limited in all messages, and that knowledge is readily shared throughout the entire team (Cottone, et al, 2009;Muntean, 2009;Robert, Dennis & Ahuja, 2008;and Zhang, et al, 2009). …”

“…To combat this ambiguity, teams can change their preferred method of collaborative technology (Zhang et al, 2009).…”

“…chat rooms, e-mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc.) in order to accomplish organizational goals (Brake, 2006;Cottone, Pieti, Schiavinato, Soru, Martinelli, Varotto, & Mantovani, 2009;Fruchter, Bosch-Sijtsema, & Ruohomaki, 2010;Suduc, Bizoi, & Filip, 2009;and Zhang, Tremaine, Egan, Milewski, O'Sullivan, & Fjermestad, 2009). Many organizations use VCTs because they are inexpensive, independent of time and space, more efficient, more effective, and are better able to share information, than face-to-face teams (Eom, 2009;Muntean, 2009;Suduc, Bizoi, & Filip, 2009;and Zhang et al, 2009).…”