| The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship between the level of trust among virtual team members and teamwork satisfaction and performance, and to examine the effects teamwork development processes had on teamwork satisfaction and teamwork performance. In addition, team members' perceptions toward building online trust with their teammates were also examined. The participants in this study were 15 graduate students at a western university in the United States. They were assigned into four teams by the online instructor and each team was required to complete five team projects. In the proposed study, the trust within the virtual team was measured using the Measure of Trust survey, the quality of each team's performance was evaluated based on the scores of teamwork projects, and the teamwork satisfaction was measured using the Teamwork Satisfaction Scale (TSS). Student attitudes toward virtual trust were examined by the open-ended questions in the Teamwork Satisfaction Scale and interview questions.;The results of this study suggest that the virtual teams reporting higher levels of trust were not necessarily achieving higher performance levels. It might be due to fact that trust does not influence performance directly; rather it has a mediating effect. Further, teamwork satisfaction corresponded with the level of trust across the four virtual teams, which is consistent with findings in previous research. In terms of the teamwork development progression, the data of the four virtual teams in this study supported Tuckman's model in describing how the virtual teams developed. In addition, by distinguishing their developmental patterns, the researcher could capture and understand the teamwork dynamic more precisely. Students' attitudes on teamwork experience and teamwork trust were also assessed. They thought that the benefits of the teamwork process and diversity of others' abilities were the best experience when collaborating with their team members. Furthermore, the worst experience for students was questionable behaviors of members, lack of communication, and low levels of individual accountability. In addition, students claimed that individual accountability, familiarity with other team members, commitment towards quality work, and team spirit were all important variables for building trust with their team members. Finally, recommendations for online instructors and for future research are also discussed. |
