This paper presents the results of empirical research
conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the
influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within
Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The
specific objective of the study is better understanding of the
application of collaborative technologies in business, to find the
effective factors to assist SMEs to remain competitive in the future.
The paper stresses to find an answer for a question “Is there any
relationship between company size, Internet connection facility and
virtuality?”. The survey data shows SMEs are now technologically capable
of performing the virtual collaborative team, but the infrastructure
usage is less. SMEs now have the necessary technology to begin the
implementation process of collaboration tools to reduce research and
development (R&D) time, costs and increase productivity. So, the
manager of R&D should take the potentials of virtual teams into
account.