A Typology of Virtual Teams

TLDR

Virtual teams are increasingly used in complex, global work settings, yet little is understood about their structure and functioning. This article aims to develop a theoretical framework to guide research on virtual teams and highlight leadership implications. The authors construct a typology that differentiates virtual teams from conventional teams and categorizes them by task complexity, outlining associated characteristics and leadership challenges. The paper proposes propositions on leadership practices that can effectively manage different types of virtual teams.

Abstract

As the nature of work in today’s organizations becomes more complex, dynamic, and global, there has been increasing emphasis on distributed, “virtual” teams as organizing units of work. Despite their growing prevalence, relatively little is known about this new form of work unit. The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical framework to focus research toward understanding virtual teams and identifying implications for effective leadership. The authors focus on delineating the dimensions of a typology to characterize different types of virtual teams. First, the authors distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams to identify where current knowledge applies and new research needs exist. Second, the authors distinguish among different types of virtual teams, considering the critical role of task complexity in determining the underlying characteristics of virtual teams and leadership challenges the different types entail. Propositions addressing leadership implications for the effective management of virtual teams are proposed and discussed.