Ahmed, Shamsuddin


(2009)

Virtual Teams: a Literature Review.


Australian Journal of Basic and, 3 (3).
pp. 2653-2669.

In the
competitive market , virtual teams represent a growing response to the
need for fasting time-to- market, low-cost and rapid solutions to
complex organizational problems. Virtual teams enable organizations to
pool the talents and expertise of employees and non-employees by
eliminating time and space barriers . Nowadays, companies are heavily
investing in virtual team to enhance their performance and
competitiveness. Despite virtual teams growing prevalence, relatively
little is known about this new form of team. Hence the study offers an
extensive literature review with definitions o f virtual teams and a
structured analysis of the present body of knowledge of virtual teams.
First, we distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams , different
types of virtual teams to identify where current knowledge applies.
Second, we distinguish what is needed for effective virtual team
considering the people, process and technology point of view and
underlying characteristics of virtual teams and challenges they entail.
Finally, we have identified an d extended 12 key factors that need to be
considered, and describes a methodology focused on supporting virtual
team working, with a new approach that has not been specifically
addressed in the existing literature and some guide line for future
research extracted.