Abstract:
The proliferation of telecommunication technology, globalisation and the recent COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in the widespread adoption of virtual work within organisations and
teams. While the benefits of increased virtuality have been well-researched at an individual
level, research on team implications – especially for team collaboration, creativity and
innovation - has been limited. This study explores the implications of high virtuality of work on
team collaboration, creativity and innovation by adopting an exploratory, qualitative research
design. Fifteen semi-structured interviews with participants and managers of virtual teams
across eight industries provide insights that are utilised to generate the findings of the study.
Two of the key findings of the study that contribute to the literature on virtual teams is the
insight that increased demand on virtual collaborators due to high virtuality of work has
resulted in negative implications for knowledge sharing and decision-making of virtual teams
impacting creativity. The second key finding relates to the changing nature of virtual relations
to become more transactional and has implications for the motivation and leadership of virtual
teams. Lastly, the concludes by providing recommendations for managers and organisations
on how to promote the positive benefits of collaboration and creativity within virtual teams,
which was previously experienced in face-to-face teams.
