Managing barriers of virtual communication in global new product development projects

Abstract

In virtual operating environments for new product development (NPD) increase the need to manage communication efficiently. The goal of communication is to reach a shared understanding; however, this is often challenging due to barriers that harm the communication process. Communication barriers typically cause misunderstandings and conflicts and hinder access to relevant information, causing delays in projects and some even fail in reaching their strategic or operational objectives. In addition to identifying the barriers, the main aim of the study was to discover ways of overcoming these barriers. We conducted a multi-method case study in a global telecommunications company. The theoretical base was built on virtual team literature and the theory of communication in virtual NPD teams' context. The key finding of this study is that main barriers to communication are egocentrism, information-sharing behaviour, inadequate language skills, mistrust, communication distortions and miscommunication. In addition, we identify specific managerial implications for organising communications in virtual projects. Biographical notes:Päivi Lohikoski is currently a doctoral student at the Industrial Engineering and Management at the Faculty of Technology at the University of Oulu. Her research interests are in knowledge management in virtual organisations and project communications. She received her MA in Information Studies from the University of Oulu, where she has worked as a University Lecturer and University Teacher 2005-2013. Her work experience has been concentrated on planning and teaching in e-learning projects and in addition she has several years work experience in the ICT industry in communication and documentation functions in R&D. Jaakko Kujala is a Professor of Quality and Project Management in the University of Oulu, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. He has an extensive industrial background in Metso Corporation in managing both customer delivery projects and internal development projects. He holds MSc in Information Technology and he received his doctoral degree in 2003

Knowledge management enablers and barriers: exploring the moderating effect of communication barriers

“…Communication is considered the “process of exchange of information between sender and receiver to equalize the information on both sides” (den Otter and Prins, 2002). In a communication process, a group or person transmits information to another group or person in order to establish a shared understanding of the topic (Lohikoski et al. , 2015; Morreale et al.…”

Emotional capability: the missing link between information technology capabilities and innovation performanceCapacidad emocional: el vínculo perdido entre capacidades de tecnologías de la información y desempeño innovadorCapacidade emocional: O elo perdido entre as capacidades das tecnologias da informação e o desempenho inovador

“…Another relevant issue in which the EC plays an important role in the relationship between ITC and IP deals with interorganizational coordination and collaborative work such as the one carried out in virtual innovation teams. In this sense, the main problem is communication barriers that cause misunderstandings, conflicts and consequently, delays in innovation projects (Gilson et al, 2014;Lohikoski et al, 2015). Barriers arise because when comparing virtual and face-to-face communication, the former involves a greater degree of difficulty in grasping the emotional state of the people with whom one is interacting causing biases and distortions (Ayoko et al, 2012); for example, people perceive an unfounded negative tone in emails that deal with work issues (Byron, 2008).…”

Impact of Trust on Communication in Global Virtual Teams

“…There is also evidence that e.g. with prior positive experiences, team building and good communication skills, virtual work can be conducted efficiently (Harwick, 2013;Lohikoski & Haapasalo, 2013;Lohikoski et al, 2014). Certain teams had learnt to use wikis, blogs, instant messaging and web conferencing in such a way that oral communication was unnecessary (Reed & Knight, 2010).…”

“…In research there are controversial results in trust, which requires further studies in order to achieve theoretically grounded understanding (Martins et al, 2004;Seppänen, 2014). It has been previously claimed that virtual teams cannot transmit rich information; however, recent studies have shown that virtual communication can be rich if promoted by high level of trust or strong ties among team members (Harwick et al, 2013;Lohikoski et al, 2014). Hence, understanding trust in different contexts is important not only theoretically, but also in practice (Jarvenpaa et al, 2004).…”