Virtual team functioning: Modeling the affective and cognitive effects of an emotional management intervention

Abstract

Introduction: As the number of virtual teams increases, it is important to find out how companies can modify their functioning and outcomes. This study investigates the influence of an emotional management intervention on virtual teams' processes and results. To do so, an input-mediator-output model with 2 mediators, affective and cognitive, is proposed. For the affective mediator, motivation and team engagement are used as a well-being measure, whereas in the cognitive process, team synergy is related to team task performance. Method: This experimental study used 41 virtual teams made up of 164 first-year students enrolled in organizational behavior and work science studies from 2 universities in Spain who were randomly assigned to a control or intervention condition. These groups solved intellective multidecision tasks through electronic communication, also called "survival" tasks. Results: The findings show 2 full mediation effects. Hence, the team emotional management intervention, on the one hand, increases synergy effects, which produce enhanced team task performance (β =.37) and have a positive effect on the motivational processes within the team, thus leading to more team engagement (β =.23). Conclusions: The findings provide guidance to practitioners who aim to improve the functioning of virtual teams, and they have important implications for future research on virtual teams and their functioning.