In the work environment, can we motivate virtual/remote teams in the same way as co-located teams?

As organisations engage in developing and harnessing dynamic and motivated global team-based workforces, capable of transcending all conventional team-working barriers, the once unbridgeable frontier of geographical location has been fast overcome by technologies, digital tools, and services allowing team members to communicate, and interact with each other regardless of time and space. This management research study examines the paradigm of two types of teams prevalent in organisations around the world; the traditional co-located team, and the contemporary virtual/remote team. The focus of the study lays on the concept of motivation within virtual/remote teams and co-located teams, and deciphers motivation variables through the application of motivational theories, within both types of teams to comprehend emerging correlations in team motivations by means of primary data collection and analysis methods. Additionally, parallels are drawn on the motivation aspects of virtual/remote teams and co-located teams offered to team members, as well as the management support elements required for increasing motivation levels amongst team members. This study shows the importance of bridging the challenges of motivating virtual/remote teams and co-located teams, and draws upon traditional methods of motivation and the implications they have on team members. The notion of self-determination is brought forth as the common denominator for the theories of motivation. Finally, this study presents and discusses the non-significant differences found in the motivation variables between both virtual/remote teams and co-located teams, and explicates the extended idea of assessing team member’s performance levels, providing scope for further topical discussions, and areas for future research