The Impact of Virtual Team Consistency on Individual Performance and Perceptual Outcomes Over Time

Abstract

This research examines how the provision of virtual team membership consistency may impact perceptions of the communication technology and interactions as well as performance. The results from a repeated measures experiment finds that virtual teams with expectations of inconsistency in membership have a more negative perception of the supporting technology, and perceive less coordination than consistent teams. Additionally, members on consistent teams perceive less interpersonal conflict, greater coordination, and enjoy greater performance outcomes. Virtual team consistency is an important construct that can provide insights to virtual team member concerns regarding team turnover and loss of social capital due to turnover. Given the ephemeral nature of virtual team membership, consistency may be a key construct for consideration in overcoming delay in virtual team engagement and social identity development.