Virtual Team Functioning: Modeling the Affective and Cognitive Effects of an Emotional Management Intervention

• Published in: Group dynamics 2020-09, Vol.24 (3), p.153-167
• Main Authors: Holtz, Kimberly, Orengo Castella, Virginia, Zornoza Abad, Ana, González-Anta, Baltasar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cognition; Emotional Regulation; Emotions; Group Performance; Human; Intervention; Job performance; Management; Mediators; Motivation; Organizational behavior; Task performance; Teams; Test Construction; Treatment Outcomes; Virtual Teams; Well Being; Work organization
• ISSN: 1089-2699; 1930-7802
• DOI: 10.1037/gdn0000141

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. Highlights and Implications Results-oriented highlights: *Training virtual teams to understand and regulate their own and their team members' emotions increases cognitive and affective processes. *The training enhances the team members' ability to identify and use the resources of the team and its members (e.g., knowledge, skills, and abilities) through group discussions, thus enabling the virtual team to increase its task performance. *A second effect of the training is that it increases the group members' motivation and, in turn, their level of engagement in a task, which is an indicator of team members' well-being. Implications: *This article demonstrates the positive effects of an online short training program for virtual teams. Practitioners can make use of this training to enhance the performance and well-being of their virtual teams. *This article provides important insight into virtual teams' functioning and processes. *This intervention can compensate for the lack of team members' individual emotional resources and develop a team emotional int