global and distributed teams

 


I have studied several topics which are discussed in more detail below.


A. EXPECTATIONS IN GLOBAL DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

In this part of the research the importance of individual expectations of distributed team members is discussed. It was found empirically that distributed team members have rather diverse expectations, instead of shared expectations. These diverse expectations can lead to expectation conflicts: (1) personal expectation conflict; (2) inter-person expectation conflict; (3) person-organization expectation conflict. These conflicts can affect motivation, and members can become frustrated, less committed and even leave the distributed. On the other hand these conflicts can enhance learning in the team, when conflicts are conscious and altered by the individual involved.


  1. -Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M. (2007) “The impact of individual expectations and expectation conflicts on virtual teams,” in Group & Organization Management, Vol. 32: 358-388.

  2. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2001) “The virtual organisation and knowledge development. A case of expectations”. Paper presented at the German ISKO 2001 (21-23 March 2001) conference on Wissensorganisation und Edutainment, Berlin, Germany, Proceedings of ISKO 2001 (international society of knowledge organization) Germany.


B. SOCIAL NETWORK METHOD IN GLOBAL DISTRIBUTED TEAMS

We applied a social network approach to a virtual team in which an interactive action perspective was taken. The approach was applied in order to see if an interactive method could improve communication and indirectly could enhance knowledge transfer in global distributed teams.

  1. -Bosch-Sijtsema Petra M. & Sonja Rispens (2003) “Facilitating knowledge transfer in virtual teams through a social network approach,” SOM research reports No. 03B31.

  2. -Bosch, Petra, M. & Sonja Rispens (2004) “Knowledge transfer in virtual teams: A social network approach,” in Sumati Reddy (ed.) “Virtual Teams - Contemporary insights”, ICFAI Books: 136-158.


C. DEGREES OF VIRTUALNESS

- Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2003) “Virtualness: A new organisational dimension. The relationship between virtualness and knowledge,” Labyrint Publication (PhD dissertation series of the SOM research school), Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands, ISBN: 90-5335-010-1

  1. -Driver, Michael J. & Petra Bosch-Sijtsema (1997) “Style-based Team-Building of Virtual organisations: The ISES Case of R&D Co-operation in the Utility Industry,” Poster paper in the Proceedings DA/DSM 97 Europe, Distribution Automation & Demand Side Management conference in Amsterdam, October.


  1. D.COORDINATION OF VIRTUAL PROJECT ORGANIZATIONS

  2. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2005) “Cooperative virtual development projects,” eJOV, Electronic Journal of Organizational Virtualness, special issue, vol. 8: 6-27.

  3. -Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M. & Arndt Sorge (2003) “The reality of virtual organizing: Enactment of a new organizational type or expectable contingencies?” in proceedings of EGOS, European Group on Organizational Studies (Copenhagen, Denmark).

  4. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2003) “Virtualness: A new organisational dimension. The relationship between virtualness and knowledge,” Labyrint Publication (PhD dissertation series of the SOM research school), Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands, ISBN: 90-5335-010-1

  5. -Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M. (2002) “A structure of roles within virtual organisations,” in International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making (IJITDM) (ISSN: 0219-6220), Vol. 1 (3), special issue on Virtual Organizations and E-commerce Applications (VOECA), pp: 371-384.


E. KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT & TRANSFER IN VIRTUAL SETTINGS

The degree of virtualness has influence on knowledge development and transfer. An organization with a high degree of virtualness is characterized as follows: a complete dispersion of the workforce, high use of IT, short duration, small organization and coordination is based on trust and mutual expectations. A high degree of virtualness is negative for the transfer of tacit knowledge and the transfer of organizational knowledge.


  1. -Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M. (2004) “A knowledge transfer framework for project organizations,” in International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organizations, special issue on knowledge management in virtual organizations, vol. 2 (4): 298-311.

  2. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2003) “Virtualness: A new organisational dimension. The relationship between virtualness and knowledge,” Labyrint Publication (PhD dissertation series of the SOM research school), Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands, ISBN: 90-5335-010-1

  3. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2002) “Knowledge Management in Virtual Organisations. Interorganisational and Interproject Knowledge Transfer,” proceedings of third European conference on organizational knowledge, learning and capabilities (OKLC 2002), in April 2002, Athens.

  4. -Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. (2001) “Knowledge development in a Virtual organisation: an Information Processing Perspective,” Licentiate dissertation from Lund University, KFS AB Lund, Sweden.

  5. -Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M. (1997) “Crossing Learning Boundaries. The Utility related Virtual Organisation ISES,” in VoNet 1 (Version 2) (now Electronic Journal of organizational virtualness) (1997) 5 (Dec. 1, 1997).