An investigation of the effect of communication modality on remote work team performance (and effective team communication behaviours across modalities)

This study examined whether team performance varies across different communication modalities; and if so, whether effective teams using different modalities may engage in different team communication and process behaviours. A sample of 106 project teams completed a military work simulation. Teams worked together in either a collocated, 'media rich' virtual, or 'media lean' virtual environment. Teams' communication modality was found to predict their performance, such that more 'media rich' teams engaged in higher task performance than more 'media lean' teams. Effective virtual teams were also found to engage in more lateral and collaborative forms of leadership and decision-making relative to their collocated counterparts, while also engaging in a greater number of behaviours aimed at compensating for team members' initial uncertainty.