| As organizations become increasingly global and have operations in far-flung regions of the world, and as the need for specialized knowledge increases due to advances in technology, virtual teams allow managers to create teams to solve problems or explore opportunities without being limited by the need for team members to work in the same geographic location. Members possess the knowledge, expertise, and experience to tackle a particular problem or take advantage of a specific opportunity. Despite the prevalence of virtual teaming due to advancing technologies and more global business interactions, the majority of research attempting to understand virtual team effectiveness is anecdotal, descriptive, or attempts to apply effectiveness outcomes witnessed in face-to-face working situations to the virtual environment.; This study sought to understand leader behaviors that make a difference in the virtual environment, with particular emphasis placed on contrasting transactional and transformational leadership behaviors. Nineteen virtual teams, consisting of a total of fifty-three students enrolled in distance education classes at the University of Missouri - Rolla and the University of Colorado - Boulder completed a survey instrument that measured the leadership behaviors expressed by team leaders, as well as the groups' perceptions of team effectiveness (measured by group potency, task satisfaction, and performance). Findings suggest that both transactional and transformational leadership behaviors are important to team effectiveness. Further, group potency and task satisfaction were not shown to moderate the relationship between leader behaviors and performance. Implications and avenues for future research are presented. |
