Because time matters: Temporal coordination in global virtual project teams

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Massey, AP; Montoya-Weiss, MM; Hung, YT
• 署名单位: Indiana University System; IU Kelley School of Business; Indiana University Bloomington; North Carolina State University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0742-1222
• 发表日期: 2003
• 页码: 129-155
• 关键词: DECISION DEVELOPMENT; COMMUNICATION; performance; work; perceptions; TECHNOLOGY; deadlines; BEHAVIOR

摘要

In this study, we explore the nature of team interaction and the role of temporal coordination in asynchronously communicating global virtual project teams (GVPT). Drawing on Time, Interaction, and Performance (TIP) theory, we consider how and why virtual team behavior is temporally patterned in complex ways. We report on the results of an experiment consisting of 35 virtual project teams comprised of 175 members residing in the United States and Japan. Through content and cluster analysis, we identify distinct patterns of interaction and examine how these patterns are associated with differential levels of GVPT performance. We also explore the role of temporal coordination mechanisms as a means to synchronize temporal patterns in GVPTs. Our results suggest that successful enactment of temporal coordination mechanisms is associated with higher performance. However, we found that temporal coordination per se is not the driver of performance; rather, it is the influence of coordination on interaction behaviors that affects performance.