Working in virtual teams: A systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Modern developments in technology have changed the way we socialize, communicate and work. Globalization, Information and Communication Technologies, digital culture and the increase in the amount of technology available for online communication mean that more organizations are implementing virtual teams. The growth in the use of virtual teams in organizations has incited researchers to investigate the different aspects, factors and challenges of these teams. This article uses a systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis of virtual teams to identify the most relevant articles on the subject. These articles are then thoroughly reviewed and finally, a summary is made of all the research published over a five-year period. The systematic review of literature proposed by Ramey and Rao [1] and enhanced by Pulsiri and Thesenvitz [2] was used to examine the Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify the theories, research problems, research methodologies and results of 2354 studies on virtual teams published between 2015 and 2019. The main topics of the existing research in the field are reviewed, and the main limitations, problems and existing gaps in research are presented.