Virtual Teams versus Face‐to‐Face Teams: An Exploratory Study of a Web‐based Conference System*

TLDR

Many organizations are forming geographically distributed virtual teams of knowledge workers to collaborate on a variety of workplace tasks. The study seeks to compare the effectiveness of virtual teams to face‑to‑face groups, assess teamwork and information exchange, and propose guidelines to improve virtual team interaction. The authors conducted an exploratory study using the asynchronous web‑based conference system Meeting Web™ to compare virtual and face‑to‑face teams. Teams using the computer‑mediated communication system could not outperform traditional teams; relational links among members significantly contributed to information exchange, and while communication effectiveness was similar, face‑to‑face members reported higher satisfaction.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many organizations are forming “virtual teams” of geographically distributed knowledge workers to collaborate on a variety of workplace tasks. But how effective are these virtual teams compared to traditional face‐to‐face groups? Do they create similar teamwork and is information exchanged as effectively? An exploratory study of a World Wide Web‐based asynchronous computer conference system known as Meeting Web™ is presented and discussed. It was found that teams using this computer‐mediated communication system (CMCS) could not outperform traditional (face‐to‐face) teams under otherwise comparable circumstances. Further, relational links among team members were found to be a significant contributor to the effectiveness of information exchange. Though virtual and face‐to‐face teams exhibit similar levels of communication effectiveness, face‐to‐face team members report higher levels of satisfaction. Therefore, the paper presents steps that can be taken to improve the interaction experience of virtual teams. Finally, guidelines for creating and managing virtual teams are suggested, based on the findings of this research and other authoritative sources.