Outcomes from Conduct of Virtual Teams at Two Sites: Support for Media Synchronicity Theory

As geographic, temporal, and cost constraints move organizations toward virtual teamwork for increasingly complex tasks, research on the impact of groups attempting to solve business problems without face-to-face communication becomes more critical. In two independent studies in two different organizations, virtual groups provided feedback related to choice of communications media. The results of the studies lend support to Media Synchronicity Theory which suggests that communications media with low synchronicity (e.g. e-mail, bulletin board) may be appropriate for "conveyance" of information, whereas media with high synchronicity (e.g. face-to-face, video conference) may be more desirable for "convergence" on shared meaning. For researchers, Media Synchronicity Theory provides an alternative explanation for the variety of studies both supporting and contradicting Media Richness and Social Presence theories. For practitioners, the results suggest an approach to communications media choices that may improve the effectiveness of team problem solving.