How do Virtual Teams work? Understanding virtual teams process by content analysis

This paper describes a study to analyse the actual processes involved when Virtual Teams (VTs) undertake specific group tasks. Six VTs were established and communication was monitored through a discussion board. The content was coded using the TEMPO system developed by Futoran et al. (1989), and the communication pattern of each virtual team was analysed The inferences which can be drawn are: (1) groups with more discussion perform better; (2) leadership plays an important role for group performance; (3) groups with a specific pattern of communication have higher performance; (4) groups with a mix of work and social conversation have improved levels of performance.