| The objective of this research is to examine the influence of Virtual Distance on trust factors (Ability, Integrity, and Benevolence), trust factors on trust, and trust on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among dyads. Virtual Distance is the emotional and psychological "distance" felt between teammates (Sobel-Lojeski et al., 2006). Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman (1995) define trust as the willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of another based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other member. Organ (1988) defines OCBs as the "behavior(s) of a discretionary nature that are not part of the employee's formal role requirements, but nevertheless promote the effective functioning of the organization". Limited research has focused on the dyadic relationship among these constructs.; A survey was conducted to measure the constructs above for members of a multidisciplinary team consisting of military, civilian, and industry personnel from a coordinated US Army/Navy defense program. 174 dyadic relationships were collected. This research presents results that demonstrate Virtual Distance between dyads have a significant negative influence on members' trust, trust factors have a significant positive influence on trust, and trust has a positive influence on OCB.; The theoretical contribution of this research lies in the dyadic method used to measure the influences of the constructs. This research also provides new information on the relationship of Virtual Distance and the factors of trust to the area of study on virtual teams.; The practical contribution of this research is the positive results of key factors suggesting the viability of virtual teams in organizations. Virtual Distance can be used as a measure for project managers forming and developing teams to improve trust. Trust is important to the success of virtual teams because it increases OCB (Wech 2002, Bulent 2000, Organ, etc). OCB is important because it enhances organizational performance by improving the social organization and efficiency (Borman & Motowidlo, 1993; Smith et al., 1983). Our model offers organizations the ability to improve the development of virtual teams, thereby increasing the chances of project success. |
