Virtually a Leader: Mitigating Process Losses through Shared Team States

Abstract

Research on virtual teams reveals that virtual teams do not operate in the same way as non-virtual teams. Despite increasing interest in this field, virtuality's impact on teams through an integrated IPO framework has yet to be assessed. The current study addresses this limitation by examining how virtuality impacts shared team states, and, subsequently, how shared team states impact communication, and how communication impacts outcomes. Further, this study investigated the role leadership plays in reducing process losses encountered by virtual teams. Results indicate that virtuality impacts the formation of shared team states, and leadership moderates this relationship, but in an unexpected direction. Shared team states were not found to contribute to communication, and communication did not predict outcomes. However, virtuality was found to directly affect communication, and the interaction between virtuality and leadership affected outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.