Global Virtual Teams & Trust: How Leadership Can Build Trust and Enhance Team Performance (Gabler Theses)

Global virtual teams have become essential in any organization in the past decade, but communication, cultural, and coordination issues often affect their performance. Trust is essential for team success, especially in global virtual teams. This book explores how leadership can establish and maintain trust in global virtual teams to improve cooperation and performance. It suggests that leaders should invest in trust by realizing the ethical focal point ‘do no (illegitimate) harm’ realized by showing respect, providing orientation, setting framework conditions, and acting as role models with trustworthy behavior and consistent communication. Foreword What the Burn taught me about leadership Contents Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1.1 Global Virtual Teams and Their Societal Importance 1.2 Research Problem and Relevance: Global Virtual Teams and Trust 1.3 Thesis: Content and Structure 2 Understanding Global Virtual Teams and Leadership 2.1 Definition of Global Virtual Teams and Leadership 2.1.1 Global 2.1.2 Virtual Teams 2.1.3 Virtuality and the Dimensions of Dispersion in Global Virtual Teams 2.1.4 Leadership of Global Virtual Teams 2.2 Global Virtual Teams in Practice 2.2.1 The Rise and Benefits of Global Virtual Teams 2.2.2 Challenges Related to Communication, the Use of Technology and Socio-Cultural Distance in Global Virtual Teams 2.2.3 The Impact of Communication Effectiveness Challenges on Cooperation and Performance in Global Virtual Teams 2.3 Global Virtual Leadership 2.3.1 Leadership Challenges and Mitigation Strategies 2.3.2 Specific Global Virtual Leadership Competences and Roles 2.3.3 Trust as Fundamental Condition for Leading Effective Global Virtual Teams 2.4 The Research Gap and Contribution 3 Bringing in Trust into Global Virtual Leadership 3.1 Values: Successful Leadership of Global Virtual Teams 3.1.1 Trust as Fundamental Condition for Successful Interactions in Global Virtual Teams 3.1.2 The Extended Golden Rule and its Do No harm Dimension 3.1.3 The Ethical Focal Point Do No Illegitimate Harm as Common Ground in Global Virtual Teams 3.2 Reality: How Different Trust Expectations and Leadership Influence Trust in Global Virtual Teams 3.2.1 Different Trust Expectations in Global Virtual Teams 3.2.2 The Importance of a Shared Mental Model for Trust 3.2.3 Global Virtual Leadership Needs to Role-Model Trustworthiness 3.3 Investment: Self-Binding Measures for Future Benefits 3.3.1 Respect 3.3.2 Orientation 3.3.3 Set Conditions 3.3.4 Role model 3.4 Illustration Case of Global Virtual Leadership Realizing Do No (Illegitimate) Harm 3.4.1 Case Illustration Overview 3.4.2 Do No (illegitimate) Harm Incorporated in a Tailor-Made Online Workshop 3.4.3 Outcome 4 Conclusion 4.1 Research Summary 4.2 Research Contributions 4.3 Research Limitations 4.4 Research Outlook References