PERCEIVED FAULTLINE IMPACT IN TEMPORARY DISTRIBUTED TEAMS: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF NORMS OF TECHNOLOGY USE

As distributed teams are inherently heterogeneous, they have a greater tendency to fracture into subgroups which result from the misalignment of demographics, geography, or values of the team members. This is referred in the literature as a faultline. Current studies of faultline have focused on collocated teams, which differ from distributed teams in terms of their primary mechanism of interaction: face-to-face vs. computer-mediated. As distributed teams mainly rely on computer mediated communication, there is greater possibility of members making inaccurate and stereotyped impressions that can negatively affect them in working together as a team. Additionally, current faultline research has fixated on demographic attributes. Although these studies are insightful, there are other attributes that are more pertinent in influencing subgroups on distributed teams, specifically. This study extends the body of knowledge on faultline and distributed teams through the development of a model that systematically investigates antecedents of subgroup processes and team performance. The model was empirically tested with survey data collected from 225 graduate students in 53 distributed project teams, using Partial Least Squares method. Research results demonstrated several novel insights into how perceived faultlines impact team performances. Firstly, in temporary distributed teams, the alignment of time orientation attributes and relationship values, also known as dormant faultlines, are positively correlated with the sense of division among team members (a perceived faultine). Secondly, this perceived faultline is negatively related to perceived team performance through the presence of task and relationship conflicts. In other words, both relationship and task conflict mediated the relationship of perceived faultline and perceived team performance. Thirdly, while this perceived faultline negatively correlates with team performance, the norms of technology significantly moderate the negative relationship of task conflict on team performance. The results suggest that the negative relationship between task conflict and team performance was reduced in teams having higher norms of technology use for supporting task awareness, task coordination, and interactions. Finally, implications for research and practice are presented with potential avenues for future research.