Meta-Analysis Research on Virtual Team Performance

The results from prior studies on the effectiveness of virtual teams (VTs) are ambiguous and show that few studies have built upon previous findings to build a substantiated body of work. In this article, the authors attempt to remedy this by performing a meta-analysis on VT research. Powell et al.’s (2004) framework of VTs is used as a prototype and twelve variables and their relationships identified as the basis for this study. Twenty empirical studies are identified and used to validate the variables statistically. From this, seven variables are preserved and form the final framework. Future research directions and managerial implications are explained. INTRODUCTION Computer networks are changing the way that people and organizations work and communicate (Anderson & Shane, 2002). This has led to a trend where increasingly teams do not work face-to-face but interact via a computer-mediated communication system (Driskell & Radtke, 2003). The trend is towards virtual teams (VTs)—a different way of working. A VT is a temporary gathering of individuals who are connected through information technologies working across time and space to finish a goal (Geyskens et al., 1996). VT members are typically “geographically dispersed,” “lack shared social context” and “lack face-to-face encounters” (Sarker et al., 2003). Morris et al. (2002) defined “VTs” as “the creation of a team to meet a spe-