The Glue That Binds Creative Virtual Teams

Abstract

This chapter describes an exploratory, qualitative research project that investigated the work environment necessary for virtual teams to be creative. Nine different virtual teams, with a total of 36 virtual team members (33 of which completed the full study), participated in this study. Three teams were organizational consulting firms, two teams were educational consortiums, three teams were on-line service provider teams, and one team was a product design engineering team. One semi-structured, telephone interview was conducted with each participant. Team members also completed a background survey. Grounded theorizing was used to generate an in-depth understanding of the phenomena under investigation. Connection, defined as the elements that need to be in place for a team to develop and maintain identity and a sense of community, emerged as a key category important to the realization of creativity in virtual teams. Connection was further subdivided into task connection (made up of dedication/commitment, and goal clarity); and interpersonal connection (made up of information sharing, trust, and personal bond). Suggestions for how team designers, team leaders, or managers can establish and develop connection in their own virtual teams are offered.