Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

Fall 1-31-2004

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems - (Ph.D.)

Department

Information Systems

First Advisor

Starr Roxanne Hiltz

Second Advisor

Jerry Fjermestad

Third Advisor

Marilyn M. Tremaine

Fourth Advisor

Il Im

Fifth Advisor

Rosalie Ocker

Abstract

Organizations have moved from a face-to-face team environment to a virtual team environment using communication technology during the last decade. More and more workers use asynchronous tools (including email, discussion groups, information sharing tools, and group calendaring systems), and synchronous tools, such as instant messaging and web-based chatting features, to coordinate and share information with people within and outside of organizations. This empirical study on how virtual teams work, integrating mobile devices with web-based group communication for decision-making tasks, examines which technologies and communication modes are the best for distributed group teamwork, and, mainly, what are the predictive characteristics making mobile group communication successful. This thesis includes research motivations and research questions, followed by a theoretical framework based on existing theories and an extensive literature review, methodology, and data analysis. The last part is the results with conclusions and contributions of this study.

Further work should focus on dispersed virtual teamwork using different communication modes and technologies depending on the characteristics of the tasks and members, and organizational cultures.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.