No abstract

Globalization and dynamic economic conditions have exponentially increased the use of virtual work in organizations. Effectiveness in software development teams, therefore, is now a relevant issue in business, psychology or other fields. Despite the uniqueness of software development teams and their work conditions, their effectiveness has not been sufficiently researched to clearly determine how it relates to personality traits, work challenges and the virtualization level. To expand the understanding of the mechanisms that influence team effectiveness in software development, an ecological framework is selected. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between personality traits, work factors and team effectiveness within the context of software development teams. Methodology: The exploratory study was conducted in international software development companies operating in Lithuania. Forty-five software development teams (N = 142) filled in the Team task performance scale, Hexaco-PI-R questionnaire and rated perceived work challenges and team virtualization level. The statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS. This survey is an initial stage of a larger project. Findings: Personality traits Conscientiousness and Extraversion relate to team effectiveness. In software development teams the most prevalent work challenges were time zone differences, lack of information when working on a project, and lack of a clear purpose. Lack of information and poor foreign language skills negatively affect team effectiveness. A higher virtualization level is associated with more frequent work challenges (culture and foreign language challenges, time zone differences) and team performance.

Changing business environments require a different leadership. Global information technology (IT) leaders must demonstrate in-depth competencies in technology and business as well as softer interpersonal skills. Studies provide disputed evidence regarding the psychological factors that contribute to a leader's efficiency. This study analyses what the most important competencies for effective IT leadership in local and global IT organisations are. An integrative literature review was used to examine and summarise previous research in global IT literature. The competencies' framework, containing three levels (core traits, personal character, and ability) and four dimensions (intercultural, interpersonal, global, and global organisational) (Kim & McLean, 2015), was chosen to examine psychological factors that contribute to IT leadership effectiveness. The results show that features related to adaptation of the cultural environment are significant for a global leader. Personality traits (extraversion, awareness, and openness to experience), characteristics (self-esteem, self-efficiency, global mindset, and motivation), and abilities (communication skills, leadership style, and experience), within the organisational context are related to higher leadership efficiency. Local and global leaders differ in the significance of social intelligence (IQ, EQ, and CQ). Sufficient educational interventions can improve an individual's effectiveness regarding global leadership challenges. This study discovers guidelines for development and education of IT leaders which include strengthening personality traits related to performance, utilising communication gaps, leveraging cultural differences, promoting trust and motivation, fostering leadership roles and attitudes,composing teams based on teamwork and task work, and modelling and practising other critical competencies for global leadership through crosstraining.