Academy of Management Journal- In Press Getting it Together: Temporal Coordination and Conflict Management in Global Virtual Teams

Virtual teams that operate asynchronously must do without mechanisms that synchronous teams have to coordinate their activity and manage conflict. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of temporal coordination on virtual teams supported by asynchronous communication technology (Lotus Notes). Specifically, we evaluate the moderating role of a temporal coordination mechanism, process structure, on the relationship between conflict management behavior and virtual team performance. We report on the results of an experiment with 175 individuals residing in the U.S. and Japan organized into 35 five-person teams. Our findings show that the way virtual teams manage internal conflict is a crucial factor in their success and temporal coordination has some significant moderating effects. New pressures facing organizations have led many to suggest the use of global virtual teams1. Simultaneously, recent technological advances are enabling new ways of structuring, processing, and distributing work and communication activities to overcome boundaries of time and space (Boudreau, Loch, Robey, & Straub 1998). In particular, new technologies are providing the means for dispersed (different place), asynchronous (different time) virtual work. Establishing links and connections is n