The effect of media richness on uncertainty and trust within virtual work teams

Previous research stresses the importance of trust in virtual work teams. However, work is needed to understand which aspects of virtuality impact trust – a question the present study addresses using media richness. Teams completed a military rescue simulation while either collocated, using rich media, or using lean media. Afterwards, team members' uncertainty and trust towards their teammates was assessed. Collocated and media rich virtual team members reported less uncertainty than media lean virtual team members. Uncertainty mediated the positive relation between media richness and trust.