Virtual Teams: The Role of Involvement,Immersion and Presence for Distributed Team Members

Abstract

With emerging technology and globalization, distributed teamwork has become vital to organizational success and virtual environments are increasingly being utilized to “close the gap” between dispersed team members. Although most research conducted during the past few decades has focused on co-located teams, some efforts have analyzed the inputs, processes, and outputs necessary for effective interaction in virtual teams. For example, the Virtual Team Research Model proposed by Driskell and colleagues (2003) addresses the effects of computer mediated communication on team performance. Our current initiative expands upon this model by focusing on distributed teams that utilize virtual technology. We feel that by simultaneously considering both socio (i.e., distributed teamwork) and technical (i.e., virtual environments) factors, a more detailed picture of virtual teams will be illuminated and thereby more robust guidance can be provided to future research endeavors.