Global virtual teams

Abstract

Global virtual teams (GVTs) are multinational, multicultural, and multilingual groups working across distance and time differences using various information and communication technologies (ICT). The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual work, propelling GVTs from a niche tool used exclusively by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to a prevalent organizational reality of local and international firms. GVTs differ from conventional teams in terms of the various distances they face: time, spatial, social, and cultural. A growing body of research has emerged, exploring the impact of structure and leadership, linguistic and cultural diversity, and trust on virtual teams, their performance, and their members' psychological well-being.