Abstract : Increased global
competitions have urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop
new products faster. Virtual research and development (R&D) teams in
SMEs can offer a solution to speed up time-to-market of new product
development (NPD). However, factors that affect the effectiveness of
virtual teams for NPD are still not adequately verified. This paper
presents the correlations between virtual R&D team constructs and
virtual team effectiveness by developing a " Virtual Research and
Development Team " (ViR&DT) model. The items, which may influence
the effectiveness of virtual teams, are taken from the literature.
Through an online survey and by application of structural equation
modeling (SEM) technique, the proposed model (ViR&DT) has been
tested. The results suggest that the process construct is strongly
correlated to the effectiveness of virtual teams. Therefore, NPD
managers in virtual R&D teams should concentrate on the process of
new product development rather than simply equipping the teams with the
latest technology or employing highly qualified experts. Further
empirical research is recommended to fully explore and appreciate the
breadth of application of the ViR&DT model. This paper is a part of
my PhD journey.