Relevance & Research Question: Online survey platforms can extend the boundaries of traditional business research. Consider the challenges managers face with multicultural virtual teams. Lack of face-to-face interaction among culturally diverse individuals can facilitate social loafing, conflict, and mistrust. Managers need a mechanism to better monitor team progress and handle the complexities that occur when team members are distributed across multiple locations in different countries. This study investigates the impact that periodic surveys and online self/peer evaluations have on productivity and individual satisfaction of multicultural virtual teams members.
Methods & Data: Twenty-two teams (n=176) from a multinational organization participated in this study. Participants were located in the German and US offices. Teams were assigned a similar task and given identical resources, support, and deadlines. Participants were divided into a control group with eight teams, and two experimental groups with seven teams each. The first experimental group used an online survey platform each week to complete a short report and rate overall team productivity and personal satisfaction. The second experimental group provided the same data twice a week. Both experimental groups completed self/peer evaluations halfway through the project and again at the end. The control group completed the online self/peer evaluation only at the project’s conclusion. Managers monitored reports to identify developing issues that might hamper productivity. They intervened when appropriate. Team productivity was determined by output quality.
Results: Teams in the first experimental group produced significantly better output than both the control group and experimental group that completed reports twice a week. Personal satisfaction was also higher. These teams viewed online reporting as an opportunity to reflect on the project. Control group members felt disconnected and frustrated with managers’ inability to identify when teams were having problems. Teams in the second experimental group felt burdened with the chore of continually reporting.
Added Value: Online survey platforms have value beyond traditional business research projects. By capturing qualitative and empirical data at regular intervals, managers can positively impact productivity and member satisfaction by keeping their fingers on the pulse of multicultural virtual teams.