Abstract
This study examines a moderated mediation model in which team trust moderates the indirect effect of team feedback on team learning through group information elaboration in virtual teams. An experimental study in a laboratory was conducted with 54 teams randomly assigned to a team feedback condition or a control condition. Results provided empirical support to the moderated mediation model. We found that the indirect effect of team feedback on team learning via group information elaboration occurred in virtual teams with a high level of team trust. However, this indirect effect was not statistically significant in virtual teams with lower levels of team trust. Additionally, we also found that group information elaboration and team learning were positively related in virtual teams. Therefore, our findings suggest that team feedback is effective to improve group information elaboration and learning in virtual teams when team trust is high.
1. Introduction
Globalization and the availability of computer-mediated communication have increased the use of virtual teams (Cramton & Webber, 2005). Virtual teams are two or more persons who are generally geographically dispersed and work interdependently toward common goals using technology to communicate and collaborate across time and space (Hertel, Geister, & Konradt, 2005).
4.2. Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest some practical implications for organizations. Virtual teams allow them to gain a competitive advantage in the current, complex and global environment. Thus, design strategies addressed to prepare team members to work more effectively in virtual contexts is an important challenge for present organizations.
From a practical approach, team feedback based on self-team reflection improves team learning in virtual contexts in which a climate of high team trust exists. Organizational managers should implement debriefing strategies to deliver feedback in teams that work in virtual contexts. This kind of strategies enhances team learning through shared management information creating a shared understanding of who knows what and how to convey it inside the group.
