How to Manage Virtual Teams

Siebdrat, F., Hoegl, M., & Ernst, H. (2009). How to manage virtual teams. Retrieved February 23, 2010 from: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/files/saleable-pdfs/50412.pdf

This article, originally published in MIT’s Sloan Management Review in the summer of 2009, discusses a study regarding the pros and cons of virtual teams and compares them to co-located teams. Their research looked to answer two questions: When do virtual teams outperform co-located ones? And, how should companies manage dispersed teams. They found that virtual teams can outperform co-located teams when certain crucial team processes are in place for the team. These processes fall into two categories: task-related processes and socio-emotional processes. They also found the wider the dispersion, the more important these processes become. So to manage these teams, they state that managers should implement the mechanisms that will boost both socio-emotional and task-related processes. This study is important because with today’s global economy and with firms spreading their operations all over the world, virtual teams are becoming a reality for many workers and it is important for managers to know how to make the best of them.