Do Virtual and the Face-to-face Ways of Working Have an Impact on the Effectiveness of Teams? An Empirical Study in the Context of Multicultural IT Teams

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.35.4.30762

Keywords:

Multilevel effectiveness, Chain of competencies, Multicultural IT teams, Virtual teams, Face-to-face teams, Market adaptability

Abstract

This paper pursued to identify whether there are differences between virtual and face-to-face teams concerning their ability to develop a natural and incremental chain of linkages between individual, team and organization level effectiveness, in the context of interactions between their multicultural members and of interdependence that teamwork entails. The novelty and relevance of the research consist in empirically testing the above chain, along with the differences and similarities between virtual and co-located teams, on a sample of 159 respondents working in multicultural IT project teams from Romania and the Czech Republic. Structural equation modelling based empirical findings show statistically insignificant differences regarding the construction of the chain of effectiveness between virtual and co-located multicultural teams. Complementary, in terms of average values for all three levels of results, the face-to-face multicultural teams are superior to virtual multicultural ones, limited by the exclusion of team reaction time and lifespan from the research model.

Author Biographies

Elena CIZMAȘ, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timișoara, Romania

Elena Cizmaș is an associate professor at the West University of Timișoara, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. She holds a PhD in Management at the West University of Timișoara and an MBA from the Business Administration Institute, Orleans University. In her teaching activities and scientific work, she focuses on organizational behaviour, management, human resource management and international human resource management.

Emőke-Szidónia FEDER, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timișoara, Romania

Emőke-Szidónia Feder is an associate professor at the West University of Timișoara, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Marketing and International Economic Relations. She obtained the scientific title of PhD in Marketing at the West University of Timișoara, then she followed post-doctoral studies at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in the field of comparative international entrepreneurship. Her main research interests and teaching activities encompass topics specific to international management, global business development, and international entrepreneurship.

Mădălina-Dumitrița MATICIUC, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timișoara, Romania

Mădălina-Dumitrița Maticiuc is a lecturer at the West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. She was a post-doctoral research fellow at the same university, where she studied entrepreneurship and business clusters. Her main research interests revolve around areas such as organizational behaviour, intercultural management, strategic management, and innovation.

Additional Files

Published

2024-10-29

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 4 (2024)

Section

Articles