Identifying the Key Factors in the Effectiveness and Failure of Virtual Teams

Virtual teams, “individuals collaborating in geographically dispersed work teams who may reside in different time zones and countries ” (Horwitz, Bravington, & Silvis, 2006, p. 472), are continuing to increase in frequency in today’s global economy. These teams have become a vital option for organizations that need to work in multiple locales at once and draw on vast global expertise. In fact, virtual teams and e-collaboration is considered an alternative to previously traditional formats, because of the cost savings and lack of space limitations associated with operating via virtual means (Kock & Nosek, 2005). As a result of technological advances, companies are compelled to seek out innovative ways to adopt and incorporate virtual teams (Karayaz, 2006). With the advance in virtual teams, researchers have explored several facets of the virtual team environment. It is within this framework that the exploration of virtual teams and the contributing factors to the virtual team environment will be discussed. As companies seek to increase the use of virtual teams, a need exists to explore the definition and context of these teams, and the enabling factors to the success and failure of virtual teams by building on previous research