Key factors that boost the effectiveness of virtual teamwork in online higher education

The globalized nature of today’s business along with the advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has made the virtual teamwork a significantly important skill to the employer as well as to the future graduates for their professional career success. At the same time, it is believed that higher education is the institutional foundation for a graduate to be prepared for his/her professional career.

This is the topic of the article we are talking about today, which was published by Akinul Islam Jony and Enric Serradell López, the latter a member of the Management & e-Learning (MeL) research group. The article was published at the Research and Innovation Forum 2020.

Objectives and methodology

The paper aims to identify and propose a conceptual model that highlights the key factors influencing the effectiveness of virtual teamwork in online higher education. It seeks to determine critical factors based on existing literature, establish relationships among these factors, and derive hypotheses for future research.

To achieve these objectives, the authors conducted an extensive systematic review of relevant literature using various academic databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore. This review was complemented by content analysis to identify the most pertinent factors affecting virtual teamwork effectiveness. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study explored the dynamics of virtual teamwork in online education, ultimately leading to the development of a conceptual model and hypotheses that can guide future empirical testing.

Results and conclusions

The research identified several key factors that significantly influence the effectiveness of virtual teamwork in online higher education. These factors include motivation, communication, knowledge sharing, trust, cohesion, coordination, and performance. Each factor plays a critical role in enhancing team engagement, collaboration, and overall success in achieving team objectives. The study concludes that these factors are interrelated and collectively contribute to the development of effective virtual teamwork skills among students.

The authors highlight the necessity of implementing strategies that focus on these factors to better prepare graduates for successful careers in today’s globalized and technology-driven job market. Furthermore, the study suggests that future research should aim to develop a measurement model to assess the latent variables of the conceptual model and conduct empirical studies to evaluate its statistical significance

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