The Impact of Team Virtuality and Task Complexity on NPD Coordination Modes

New Product Development (NPD) processes increasingly involve virtual teams. Virtuality can decrease task interdependence, making the question of the coordination of these processes crucial. The modes of coordination (standardization, planning and mutual adjustment) depend on task interdependence - which are influenced by task complexity and by the level of team virtuality. However, to date, this link has received little theoretical and empirical attention. This paper aims to shed some light on this aspect. Our goal is to better understand the impact of team virtuality levels and of task complexity on the type of coordination implemented within the team. Based on the study of three NPD projects, our research indicates that, contrary to previous results, virtuality creates a need for mutual adjustment and is not incompatible with task complexity.