Beat Buhlmann

Need to Manage a Virtual Team? Beat Buhlmann

In the rapidly changing and globalised business environment of the IT industry, virtual teams represent an emerging and increasingly prevalent work form. Based on a field study in the marketing department of an international IT company in Europe, this book seeks to understand what makes for the successful management of virtual teams. It offers an extensive literature review (Chapter 2) and a detailed description of the qualitative, ethnographic research project (Chapter 3). The analysis was conducted with the help of qualitative research software (NVivo) and led to more than thirty findings relevant to the subject (Chapter 4). Considering the scarce time of people working in fast-paced realworld environments, Chapter 5 provides specifically framed managerial recommendations, aimed at being easily accessible without lengthy reading times. Advantages and drawbacks associated with virtual teams are identified, and practical approaches for managing virtual teams in areas like recruitment, communication, cultural differences, managing conflicts, or increasing trust are suggested.