Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2008
Abstract
Many organizations, such as the Department of Defense (DoD), are using virtual teams to meet the challenges of working globally. These teams are faced with unique challenges due to geographical distance. Literature suggests that trust is especially important in a virtual environment and that team leader personality is suggested to impact team member trust (Handy, l995; Cohen & Bailey, 1997). The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between team leader personality, team member trust and perceived team effectiveness in virtual teamwork. Participants in the study included 873 virtual team members within a combined government (DoD) and commercial engineering environment. Findings suggested that certain types of trust were important for effective virtual teams, specifically cognitive trust but surprisingly institutional trust showed no effect as a mediator. It was also found that team leader personality had a positive impact on team effectiveness but only when mediated through cognitive and personality based trust.
Keywords
virtual work teams, personality, trust, virtual teams, perceived satisfaction, perceived performance, cognitive based trust, personality-based trust, and institutional-based trust
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Pierce, Eugene A., "The Effect of Personality and Trust on Virtual Team Effectiveness" (2008). Student Scholarship. 440.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/440