Extending the Individual Level of Virtuality: Implications of Task Virtuality in Virtual and Traditional Settings

Abstract

Virtuality in organizations has usually been treated as a characteristic that is observed either at a team or organizational level. However, the penetration of new technologies into our lives has transformed the entire design of organizations and teams. Not only has the design of teams and organizations changed, but the context and design of our jobs have also been impacted. Today, even employees in traditional team settings use electronic communication tools to work with multiple dispersed contacts outside of their teams and organizations, such as colleagues, clients or suppliers, who do not share the same geographical location. With all of these changes, virtuality can no longer be considered as a concept that is exclusive to virtual team members. In today's organizations, to some extent, everyone's tasks involve non-face-to-face contacts, irrespective of team virtuality. It therefore becomes crucial to identify the task virtuality phenomenon in organizations. With this paper, the example of Yahoo! is used as a case study to illustrate how task virtuality can be relevant for the design of organizations. Additionally, the proposed two-dimensional framework integrates both team virtuality and task virtuality elements in organizations. This framework is novel in that it not only allows us how to conceptualize the task virtuality, but also provides practical guidance for managers to identify and understand the factors leading to high task virtuality and to deal with the resulting complexities.

Invisible, therefore isolated: Comparative effects of team virtuality with task virtuality on workplace isolation and work outcomes

“…Since the focus of research has shifted from virtual teams to the virtuality in teams, greater attention has been paid to the impacts of virtuality in team settings (Dixon & Panteli, 2010;Hosseini, Zuo, Chileshe, & Baroudi, 2015). By the same token, researchers have started studying the individual and behavioral effects influenced by virtuality (Arling & Subramani, 2011;Orhan, 2014;Suh, Shin, Ahuja, & Kim, 2011). Social support and the need for affiliation are often considered the missing elements in virtual work settings .…”

Evaluating virtuality in teams: a conceptual model

“…As such, the area is in need of further investigations to establish the application of discontinuities to conceptualise virtuality (Watson-Manheim, Chudoba, and Crowston 2012). As a result, conceptualising virtuality suffers from many unknowns and misconceptions as opined by Orhan (2014). According to Gibson et al (2014, 226) 'no consensus has emerged on the exact conceptualisation or specific dimensions of virtuality'.…”

“…Their study deployed a novel approach to conceptualise virtuality, yet the findings are not generalisable to other contexts as reiterated by the authors. Discontinuities have provided a sound basis for conceptualising virtuality, yet attempts based on discontinuities approach are few and have remained in preliminary stages (Orhan 2014) as further discussed in the following.…”

“…As pointed out by Espinosa and Carmel (2003), the terms 'discontinuities' and 'boundaries' have been used interchangeably within the literature as both refer to deviations from face-to-face working conditions. According to Orhan (2014), discontinuities represent one of the most effective concepts for conceptualising virtuality in teams. On the other hand, virtuality is linked with quality of communications in teams (Henderson 2008).…”

“…Against this backdrop, organisations should increasingly deal with teams that are not explicitly traditional or completely virtual and mostly could be considered to be somewhere between the two extremes (Bell and Kozlowski 2002;Berry 2011;Hertel, Geister, and Konradt 2005;Orhan 2014;Schroeder 2013;Sessa et al 1999). As such, teams should be defined along a continuum from merely face-to-face to entirely virtual (Berry 2011;Joy-Matthews and Gladstone 2000;Martins and Schilpzand 2011).…”