The Organization´s Role in Global Virtual Team Leaders´ Possibilities to Successfully Lead the Team across Its Lifecycle

Leadership has been recognized to have a big influence on global virtual team (GVT) success, but the influence of the organizational context on GVT leaders´ possibilities to succeed in leading GVTs in the team´s different lifecycle stages has been omitted. In this study, which was conducted as a qualitative multiple case study, we identified five factors of organizational support which influence these possibilities: the way in which the GVT is created, the purpose for which the GVT is created, the availability of funding for the GVT, the amount of control over the GVT´s ways of working, and the way the GVT is being ended. In addition, we provide a model which consists of organizational support and GVT leaders´ skills and which could guide future research on GVT leadership.