The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams

Kansainvälisten virtuaalitiimien tehokkaalla sisäisellä viestinnällä on erityinen rooli yrityksen menestyksen kannalta. Useat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että tiimin hajauttamisesta johtuvat vuorovaikutushaasteet (communication dis- tance factors), joita virtuaalitiimit kohtaavat päivittäin, vaiku...

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Main Author: Vallin, Olga
Other Authors: Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos, Department of Language and Communication Studies, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/73295
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author Vallin, Olga
author2 Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Vallin, Olga Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Vallin, Olga Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_sort Vallin, Olga
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description Kansainvälisten virtuaalitiimien tehokkaalla sisäisellä viestinnällä on erityinen rooli yrityksen menestyksen kannalta. Useat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että tiimin hajauttamisesta johtuvat vuorovaikutushaasteet (communication dis- tance factors), joita virtuaalitiimit kohtaavat päivittäin, vaikuttavat negatiivisesti tiimin keskinäiseen vuorovaikutuk- seen. Hajautettujen tiimien ulottuvuuksia ovat maantieteellinen, ajallinen ja kulttuurinen hajautuneisuus sekä̈ viestintäteknologia, joka on hajautettujen tiimien vuorovaikutuksen muoto. Tehokas sisäinen viestintä on oleellinen osa yrityksen toimintaa. Näin ollen viestinnän sekä vuorovaikutuksen kehittämisen tärkeys korostuu erityisesti työnteki- jöiden keskinäisessä viestinnässä. Tutkimukseni tavoitteena oli tarkastella, miten tiimin koko vaikuttaa hajauttamisesta johtuviin vuorovaikutushaasteisiin sekä millainen vaikutus tällä on tiimin viestintäkäytäntöihin. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisin menetelmin ja aineistonkeruumenetelmänä toimi teemahaastattelu. Tavoitteena oli selvittää vähentääkö pienempi tiimin koko hajauttamisesta johtuvia vuorovaikutushaasteiden vaikutuksia. Kokonaisvaltaisen tutkimuksen saavuttamiseksi tutkielmassa käytettiin monimenetelmällistä tutkimusmenetelmää. Tutkimus- kohteena oli kansainvälisen yrityksen ohjelmistokehityksen ja sovelluskehityksen kansainvälinen tytäryhtiö, ja haastatteluun osallistui 11 työntekijää kahdesta eri tiimistä. Haastattelun lisäksi tulosten vahvistamiseen käytettiin tiimien sisäisen vuorovaikutuksen tutkimista heidän omassa ympäristössään. Aineisto analysoitiin käyttäen teemoittelua, jolla pyritään löytämään tutkimusaineistosta toistuvia teemoja ja aiheita. Näiden avulla voidaan pyrkiä vastaamaan tutkimuskysymyksiin. Tutkimusilmiötä tarkasteltiin kokonaisuutena ja tutkimustulosten analysoinnissa hyödynnettiin lähdekirjallisuutta. Näin tutkimuksen tuloksia pystyttiin vertaamaan ja analysoimaan kriittisestä näkökulmasta. Tämän lisäksi tutkimus pyrki kritisoimaan edellisten tutkimusten näkökulmia tiimin hajauttamisesta johtuvien vuorovaikutushaasteiden todellisista vaikutuksista. Näiden perusteella tutkimus pyrkii kehittämään kansainvälisten yritysten viestintää entisestään. Tulokset antoivat viitteitä siitä, että pienemmällä tiimin koolla on vaikutuksia tiimin jäsenten väliseen vuorovaikutukseen. Pienemmän tiimin koon voidaan väittää vähentävän hajauttamisesta johtuvia viestintähaasteita ja edesauttavan tiimin viestintäkäytäntöjä päivittäisviestinnässä. Tutkimustuloksia voidaan hyödyntää sekä julkisissa että yksityisissä yrityksissä, jotka pyrkivät parantamaan omaa sisäistä viestintää. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että projektin monimutkaisuudesta riippumatta tiimin tehokkaampi viestintä on mahdollista saavuttaa hajautetuissa virtuaalitiimeissä tiimin koon ollessa pieni. Effective communication in global virtual teams is vital for team performance. It is well-established that several communication distance factors influence the communication of a globally distributed team. However, the size of the team in virtual teams has not been adequately analysed. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to determine how the team size influences communication distance factors in globally distributed teams and how group size is reflected in teams’ communication practices. In this context, a virtual team is defined as a globally distributed team, which works in different time-zones and communicate primarily via communication-technology. In order to test the thesis statement, this study was conducted qualitatively. Eleven members of two virtual teams from three different countries were interviewed, and their meetings were observed using reflective journaling. In analysing the data, the six-steps framework of thematic analysis was used in order to generate codes and themes to find key features of the data set. The findings of the study give an overview of team communication in virtual teams and how team size influenced communication aspects within distance factors that affect communication practices. Moreover, traditional and critical scholars’ perspectives were analysed and compared in order to give suggestions for further improvement of communication in globally distributed teams. This thesis aimed to use the results of the study to improve internal communication in the organisation even further. This thesis indicates that the size of a virtual team does matter when the team aims to maintain effective communication practices. It was possible to find that larger virtual teams might experience more communication difficulties that are caused by distance factors. Despite the size of the sampling, the findings can be beneficial for the case company and other organisations in understanding how the team size might affect communication practices in globally distributed teams. Some challenges concerning the study were limited timespan and resources. Research results can be utilised in both public and private companies, which aim to improve their internal communication even further. These results suggest that regardless of the complexity of the project, more effective communication in virtual teams is possible to reach with a well-organised small team. Thus, when planning to implement distributed teams, management needs to take the team size into consideration.
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spellingShingle Vallin, Olga The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams Virtual team globally distributed teams internal communication communication distance factors Intercultural Management and Communication 3136 tiimit viestintä kulttuurienvälinen viestintä ryhmäkoko teams communication intercultural communication group size
title The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_full The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_fullStr The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_full_unstemmed The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_short The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_sort impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
title_txtP The impact of team size on communication in globally distributed teams
topic Virtual team globally distributed teams internal communication communication distance factors Intercultural Management and Communication 3136 tiimit viestintä kulttuurienvälinen viestintä ryhmäkoko teams communication intercultural communication group size
topic_facet 3136 Intercultural Management and Communication Virtual team communication communication distance factors globally distributed teams group size intercultural communication internal communication kulttuurienvälinen viestintä ryhmäkoko teams tiimit viestintä
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/73295 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202012177241
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