The relationship between task, culture and communication technology in virtual collaboration

Abstract

Virtual collaboration is a growing trend and characterized by computer mediated communication and high cultural diversity (Clear & MacDonell, 2011). Because of its composition, virtual collaboration is exposed to several challenges which prejudice the performance (Hollingshead, McGrath, & O’Connor, 1993). Team effectiveness and performance can be improved by a good fit between task and communication technologies (Beise, Carte, Vician, & Chidambaram, 2010). This study is aimed to learn more about how the choice of technology is related to the different tasks in virtual collaboration. An additional aim is to better understand the influence of culture on this relationship. A qualitative research method was implemented by conducting interviews, via communication technologies, with participants from various cultural backgrounds who are involved in virtual collaboration. The interviews were transcribed prior to the data analysis phase, where the data were coded based on content using a semi-inductive interpretation method. Based on the results a clear relationship between the task and technology choice was confirmed. Routine or support tasks, are mainly executed through asynchronous communication tools that offer information richness. For non-routine tasks, which require synchronous communication technologies, the media richness and social presence that the technologies offer is more important. For building and maintaining relationships a variation in use between the various technologies is essential, since all technologies contribute in their own way to building and maintaining relationships. Cultural dimensions limited impact the task-technology relationship, which can be explained by a low awareness of cultural diversity among the participants. When considerable time differences or a gap in infrastructure exist, this can have a big impact on the choice of technology, because technologies get useless. The language barrier affects the task in the sense that more accuracy or interactivity can be required, leading to increased use of complementary technologies.

Date of Award	11 Jun 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Liliana Cunha (Supervisor) & Eduardo Oliveira (Co-Supervisor)