Interpersonal Communication in Virtual Teams

BACHELOR DEGREE PROJECT

THESIS WITHIN: Business Administration

NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15 ECTS

PROGRAMME OF STUDY: International

Management

AUTHORS: Adam Bhiladvala & Alexander Johansson

JÖNKÖPING May 2020

A qualitative research exploring the influence

Interpersonal Communication has on the motivation and

trust in a virtual team

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Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration

Title: Interpersonal Communication in Virtual Teams

Authors: Bhiladvala, A. & Johansson, A.

Tutor: Katrine Sonnenschein

Date: 2020-05-14

Key terms: Virtual Teams, Interpersonal Communication, Workplace Motivation, Trust,

Interpersonal Relations

Abstract

Today’s globalized world and the internationalization of many companies have put pressure on

companies to change their communication patterns, both external and internal. The way of

operating has also changed. The technological advancements made during the past decades

have allowed employees to have almost unlimited possibilities to communicate with each other,

no matter the distance. This has led to a new phenomenon, Virtual Teams. Working virtually

has become more common in recent time, while the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many

companies and teams to adapt to a virtual environment. The purpose of this thesis is to explore

the influence Interpersonal Communication has on the employees’ trust and motivation in

Virtual Teams. The research was of a qualitative nature and the collection of primary data was

made through semi-structured in-depth interviews with mainly open-ended questions. The

participants consisted of five (5) employees and one (1) manager from the same virtual team,

with the members located across the globe. The findings showed that Interpersonal

Communication has a positive influence on the employees’ motivation and trust, mostly through

the establishment of Interpersonal Relations, Sense of Belonging and Level of Involvement.

Many of the findings are supported by previous literature and research. The authors argue that

the level of influence interpersonal communication has is dependent on the experience and

seniority of the members, as well as it having the strongest influence in the beginning of a team.

The thesis has contributed to previous and current literature and research, while having

implications for future research, managers and virtual teams.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to say thank you and express the sincerest appreciation to those who

have motivated, supported and helped us through the entire process.

Firstly, a big thank you to our tutor Katrine Sonnenschein, who has helped and guided us from

start to finish with her expertise and knowledge. Katrine has given us great and continuous

feedback that has helped us improve and create the final product. We are very grateful for all

her help.

Secondly. we want to say thank you to all fellow students for their hard work, that during the

schedule seminars have provided us with valuable insights and feedback. A special thank you

to Anton Medbo, Simon Cederholm and Matilda Varvne.

Lastly, we want to say a really big thank you to all of our participants. You have provided us

with your thoughts, knowledge and expertise. This thesis would not have been possible without

you. For this, we want to express our deepest gratitude.

Thank you all!

May 14th, 2020

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Table of Contents

........................................................................................................ 1

Acknowledgements ....................................................................... ii

1. Introduction ....................................................................... 1 1.1 Definitions ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1.1 Interpersonal communication ....................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Motivation and Job Satisfaction ................................................................... 2 1.1.3 Interpersonal Skills & Managerial Interpersonal Skills ................................ 2 1.1.4 Virtual Team .................................................................................................. 2 1.1.5 Interpersonal Relations................................................................................. 3 1.1.6 Trust .............................................................................................................. 3 1.1.7 Level of involvement ..................................................................................... 3 1.1.8 Sense of Belonging....................................................................................... 3 1.2 Background ...................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1Globalization .................................................................................................. 4 1.2.2 Technological Advancements ...................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Changing communication patterns .............................................................. 5 1.3 Problem discussion .......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Purpose statement ........................................................................................... 8

2. Literature Review ............................................................... 9 2.1 Frame of Reference Method ........................................................................... 9 2.2 Interpersonal Skills .......................................................................................... 9 2.3 Interpersonal Communication ....................................................................... 11 2.4 Virtual Teams & Their Communication ......................................................... 12 2.5 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 14 2.6 Identifying Gaps ............................................................................................. 14

3. Methodology .................................................................... 15 3.1 Research Philosophy ..................................................................................... 15 3.2 Research Approach ....................................................................................... 16 3.3 Purpose of Research Desgin ........................................................................ 17 3.4 Research Method .......................................................................................... 17 3.5 Data Collection ........................................................................................ 18 3.5.1 Primary and Secondary Data ..................................................................... 18 3.5.2 Sampling Method ........................................................................................ 18 3.5.3 Team & Company description .................................................................... 19 3.5.4 Semi-Structured in-depth interviews .......................................................... 19 3.5.5 Reliability and Validity ................................................................................. 20 3.6 Data Analysis ................................................................................................. 22 3.7 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................... 22

4. Empirical Findings........................................................... 23 4.1 Interpersonal Relations .................................................................................. 23 4.2 Sense of Belonging ........................................................................................ 24 4.3 Level of Involvement ...................................................................................... 25 4.4 Trust ............................................................................................................... 26 4.5 Motivation ....................................................................................................... 27 4.6 Other Findings ............................................................................................... 27

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5. Analysis; Interpretation ................................................... 29 5.1 Interpersonal Relations & Sense of Belonging ...................................... 29 5.2 Level of Involvement ...................................................................................... 30 5.3 Trust ............................................................................................................... 31 5.4 Motivation ....................................................................................................... 32

6. Conclusion ....................................................................... 35

7. Discussion ....................................................................... 37 7.1 Limitations ...................................................................................................... 37 7.2 Proposals for further Research ..................................................................... 38

8. Reference list ................................................................... 40

9. Appendices ...................................................................... 46 9.1 Appendix 1 ..................................................................................................... 46 9.2 47 9.2 Appendix 2 ..................................................................................................... 47

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1. Introduction

______________________________________________________________________

This section provides the reader with important definitions and clarifications regarding

concepts that will be brought up frequently through the paper. Furthermore, the section

introduces the audience to the subject of communication, as well as a brief overview of

historical development of Communication, Globalization and technological

advancements. It also includes a problem discussion, purpose statement and it presents

the reader with the chosen research question.

______________________________________________________________________

1.1 Definitions

1.1.1 Interpersonal communication

For the purpose of this thesis and for the reader’s understanding of the findings it is

important to clarify what is meant by Interpersonal Communication. At present date, there

is not much consensus regarding the meaning of Interpersonal Communication

(Burleson, 2010). Some popular definitions of Interpersonal Communication are the

Developmental perspective and the Interactional Perspective (Burleson, 2010). However,

for the purpose of this thesis, the authors will follow the Situational Perspective, brought

forward by Miller in the late 1970s. The situational perspective puts a lot of focus on the

number of communicators, the physical distance between the communicators, the

communication channels (especially non-verbal ones) as well as the availability of the

immediate feedback (Burleson, 2010). Therefore, the definition of Interpersonal

communication used for this thesis is;

“Interpersonal Communication (typically) transpires between two people engaged in

face-to-face interactions who both use verbal and non-verbal channels and have access

to immediate feedback” (Burleson, 2010)

Due to that the purpose of this thesis is to explore virtual teams and their limited

possibilities for face-to-face interactions, the chosen definition provides valuable help

with investigating this.

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1.1.2 Motivation and Job Satisfaction

Motivation: “Work motivation is a condition and energy that drives self-directed or

directed employees to achieve organizational goals of the company” (Ramadanty &

Martinus 2016).

Job Satisfaction: “Job satisfaction is simply how people feel about their jobs and different

aspects of their jobs. It is the extent to which people like (satisfaction) or dislike

(dissatisfaction) their jobs.” (Spector, 1997).

Throughout this thesis these two concepts will be discussed frequently. The two concepts

are strongly interrelated with one another. A quantitative study conducted by Sing &

Tiwari (2011) conducted on 45 white-collar workers found that there is a positive

correlation between Job Satisfaction and Motivation. Meaning that job satisfaction

increases with an increase in Motivation, and vice versa.

Furthermore, several empirical findings suggest that job satisfaction are strongly related

to motivation (Baard, Deci & Ryan, 2004; Harrison et al., 2006). Therefore, the authors

assume that any increase in job satisfaction will increase the motivation of the employee,

and vice versa.

1.1.3 Interpersonal Skills & Managerial Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills may be defined as “the skills employed when persons interact with

each other” (Klein et al., 2006). In turn, managerial interpersonal skills within the

workplace can be defined as “competencies that help managers understand,

communicate with, motivate and influence others, and resolve conflicts in goal-directed

organizational settings” (Riggio & Tan, 2013

1.1.4 Virtual Team

Starting off with defining ‘Virtual’, there are many definitions of it. A commonly used

definition explains it as that ‘Virtual’ is related to something “having the essence or the

effect but not the appearance or the form of….” (Dictionary, 2009). Jarvenpaa et al.

(1998) defines ‘virtual’ in relation to team as teams that are created with members from

various locations to solve problems. They are not operating physically in the same

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location but appear as a team. An evolved definition of virtual team, and the one this study

will use;

“A group of people who can be separated by space, time and organizations, and work

closely together supported by information and communication technologies” (Ivanaj &

Bozon, 2016)

1.1.5 Interpersonal Relations

The definition that will be used for Interpersonal Relations in this study is; “An

association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This

association may be based on inference, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or

some other type of social commitment” (Velmurugan, 2016). Furthermore, the

interpersonal relations usually incorporate interdependence to some extent (Velmurugan,

2016).

1.1.6 Trust

Whitener et al. (1998) defines trust as an “attitude held by one individual, the truster,

toward another individual, the trustee. Trust in individuals is an expectation or

belief that actions from another party will be motivated by good intentions”.

1.1.7 Level of involvement

“A participative process to use the entire capacity of workers, designed to encourage

employee commitment to organizational success. This process typically comes about by

giving employees some combination of information, influence, and/or incentives”

(Cotton, 1993).

1.1.8 Sense of Belonging

“Addresses the trust and security component of membership and the extent to which

individuals in a group are well-known to each other and willing to help each other; in

essence, the “feeling of acceptance by the group and a willingness to sacrifice for the

group” (McMillan and Chavis, 1986).

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1.2 Background

1.2.1Globalization

According to Young (1987) internationalization of companies as well as the role of

international business has been and is important. Companies offshoring or moving

production overseas, and exporting is not a new phenomenon. During the 20th century,

and especially during the 21st century - globalization and internationalization of

companies are increasing rapidly.

Almost all studies of international business are conducted with the fundamental

assumption that international business is good for companies. Farok J. Contractor (2007)

researched this statement and came to the same conclusion. Suggesting several benefits

for companies, such as deriving knowledge from abroad, accessing or arbitraging cheaper

inputs, accumulation of global market power, and several more. However,

internationalization for companies implies changing state and it requires dynamic change

(Buckley, 2006).

Many companies have entered the international stage to some extent. Companies who are

operating on the international stage need to be able to adjust several strategies in order to

be competitively successful. They need to take into account language barriers, cultural

differences as well as legal aspects (Deresky, 2017). These, alongside the potentially vast

distances between countries that a company operates in - leads to an often-mandatory

change in communication strategy. Partially, communication strategies have been

changed to adapt to certain cultures, but most importantly to have efficient and accurate

internal communication to stay competitively relevant (Quirke, 2012).

This paper will focus on, and research company communication within virtual teams.

Virtual teams have been a steadily increased phenomenon, with different communication

possibilities, where the chances for interpersonal communication are limited (Ivanaj &

Bozon, 2016).

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1.2.2 Technological Advancements

“All that can be digitized, will get digitized” (Snickars, 2017). Alongside globalization,

continuous technological advancements have been made over the last decades. This has

in turn changed the communication possibilities within companies drastically (Kuusisto,

2017). Aula and Heinonen (2016) discusses that the communication research that the

existing literature is built on, was mainly conducted during a time where communication

possibilities were different. Even though some companies have been very quick on

adapting to the new digital environment, many companies are still years behind the

frontrunners. Mainly due to how fast the technological possibilities are changing and how

hard it is to understand the implications of this (Aula and Heinonen, 2016).

In the early 90’s, larger companies started to have access to the Internet, and in a few

years, it was also introduced to private households. This revolutionized how management

and employees could communicate with one another. Email was a groundbreaking step,

allowing a completely different and more efficient way of transferring information

(Quirke, 2012).

Though the internet changed the rules of the game for many companies, it was not

immediately adopted and accepted as the future of communication. One particular

example of this is when the Swedish communication minister from 1994-1998 Ines

Uusman during an interview suggested that the Internet will soon to be a “has-been”

(Treijs, 2016). Since then, the use of the internet as a communication platform exploded,

both in the business and social context (Aula and Heinonen, 2016).

Large developments have been made during each decade and the use of communication

on digital platforms has constantly progressed (Kuusisto, 2017). Early research on the

topic of communication was conducted at a time where communication strategies were

limited. Nowadays, coworkers have almost unlimited digital possibilities for

communicating, no matter the distance (Longhurst, 2013).

1.2.3 Changing communication patterns

Naisbitt & Aburdene (1985) identified that future organizations in a rapidly changing

market environment face the need for employees to quickly learn, adapt to change and

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face new challenges. This implicates that organizations have a need for a well-functioning

internal communication. Successful internal communication is dependent on the

employee’s perceptions of the person sending the message and the message itself

(Peterfreund, 1970). Cameron & McCollum (1993) did in turn argue that the receiver of

message is more likely to share the same beliefs as the sender, if they feel more involved

in the communication. Spaho (2010) investigated employee satisfaction of internal

communication within organizations and found that employees are in general dissatisfied

with the organizational communication.

As discussed earlier, the technological advancements and a changing global environment

has led to more computer-mediated communication (CMC). Lee (2011) identified that

employees are more prone to use CMC when communicating between different areas and

timezones. CMC was less frequently used when communicating about sensitive issues,

and CMC did not show the same positive effects on relationship building as face-to-face

communication. However, the digital advancements have led to changing communication

patterns, leading to less interpersonal communication (Bala, 2014).

Rajhan (2012) argues that organizational communication recently has become far more

complex, as it has been recognized as a key determinant for organizational success.

Rajhan (2012) further concludes that good communication has a lasting effect on

employee motivation. Effective communication leads to the feeling of satisfaction and

increased trust and commitment to the organization. This will likely lead to better

performance of the employees. Sony & Mekoth (2016) also state that

the higher the level of job satisfaction of employees, the better is the level of expected

performance.

1.3 Problem discussion

Globalization’s effect on the distance between coworkers, have forced managers to take

use of other than traditional face-to-face communication (Quirke, 2012). Furthermore,

the digital advancements made, have in turn made organizations try to find more efficient

ways to communicate (Conrad & Poole, 2012). Alongside this, virtual teams amongst

international companies have become a more common phenomenon. Previous literature

shows that the efficiency of communication is a key determinant for employee

satisfaction and motivation, which in turn leads to a better expected job performance

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(Ivanaj & Bozon, 2016). Furthermore, a close relationship and collaboration between

leaders and employees builds a relationship between them, which increases job

satisfaction. Good supervising from leaders will lead to better satisfied employees and

vice versa (Jo & Shim, 2005) Earlier research have discussed the importance of effective

communication and aspects such as trust and relationship-building within virtual teams.

These are important aspects that are proven to influence motivation and job performance,

and they are especially important in virtual teams (Ivanaj & Bozon, 2016). However, the

authors have not been able to find literature discussing the importance of interpersonal

communication in relation to these aspects. According to the authors, it is highly relevant

to investigate how motivation, alongside other aspects, is affected when the possibility of

interpersonal communication is limited for virtual teams. Since the study is being

conducted in the age of globalization and quick technological process, the authors deem

it to be highly relevant and important to investigate.

The research and study will take place on a virtual team, operating for a Swedish

international company. This choice has been made due to one primary reason; The

author’s familiarity to Sweden and the availability to a Swedish company. Even though

the study is conducted on a virtual team operating for a Swedish company, the members

are located throughout the world with different nationalities and cultures. Therefore, the

authors consider this research to not be limited to a certain national culture.

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1.4 Purpose statement

The purpose of this study is to investigate and provide valuable insight on the influence

interpersonal communication has on employee motivation and trust in virtual teams. This

will be investigated by analyzing the empirical data collected in relation and comparison

to previous literature. The research will be conducted on a Swedish based multinational

company, examining a virtual team with members located throughout the world.

The authors will be exploring the influence interpersonal communication has on virtual

team members’ motivation and trust, with the aim to contribute to existing research and

open up for future research on the topic. Therefore, the thesis will answer the following

research question;

RQ: How is motivation and trust within a virtual team influenced by

interpersonal communication?

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2. Literature Review

______________________________________________________________________

This section will present the reader with how the authors have conducted the literature

review. Secondly the reader will be presented with previous research related to the topic

of this paper. Traits of interpersonal skills will be presented, as well as existing literature

on Interpersonal communication and challenges in communication for virtual teams.

Finally, the authors are discussing the collected secondary data and identifies gaps for

further research.

______________________________________________________________________

2.1 Frame of Reference Method

The secondary data collected for this study is retrieved from peer-reviewed articles. This

data provides a body of knowledge to the frame of reference, presenting relevant literature

and existing research relevant to the topic. Also, books have been used to provide a deeper

knowledge, mainly in the background and methodology section. The peer-reviewed

articles have been found using online databases such as Jönköping University's library

database Primo and Google Scholar. A combination of keywords was pre-selected for the

searching process and was also continuously adjusted to find as suitable as possible. The

main keywords that was searched for was: *Interpersonal Communication*, *Face to face

communication*, *Motivation in workplace*, *Workplace Communication*,

*Communication and technological advancements*, *Interpersonal Skills*, *Virtual

teams*, *Workplace trust* *Trust in Virtual teams*. Once enough information was

gathered, the authors identified a gap and saw a potential for further research. From this,

the authors created the research question, frame of reference and conducted interviews.

No certain time frame of the articles publishing year was selected. However, the older

sources that have been used, have by the authors’ judgement been considered as reliable

till this day and these have also been referred to, and deemed as trustworthy by more

recent research.

2.2 Interpersonal Skills

Management and leadership theories are foremost focused on the hard skills that need to

be developed for remaining successful in a business context, such as expertise knowledge

within certain relevant sections of the company (Riggio & Tan, 2013). This is however,

a very small element of the leadership that occurs in the workplace. Little is taught about

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the soft side of management and leadership. A side which is requiring good interpersonal

skills. There exist few generally accepted definitions or models that accomplish to

categorize the soft skills a leader might maintain. Meanwhile it is uncertain where hard

and soft skills begin and respectively ends (Riggio & Tan, 2013). It is generally accepted

that interpersonal-skilled managers receive more success and that these are necessary core

skills for managers (Dierdorff et al., 2009). Kossek & Pichler (2007) argues that the

increasing diversity of organizations are likely to enhance the importance of these skills.

These competencies are also a key factor for success in the field of teamwork and working

in groups (e.g., Hackman, 1987; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006).

Research has to a large extent failed to agree upon on which the different managerial

interpersonal skills of leadership are (Riggio & Tan, 2013). More research exists

regarding interpersonal skills socially outside the workplace domain, where different

views have been presented. Mayer & Salovey (1997) took a trait-based approach

suggesting that social and emotional intelligence are leading to interpersonal skills. Other

research suggests more specific skills, such as communication skills (Klein et al., 2006).

Riggio & Tan (2013) does however claim that even though these theories are useful, they

are not fully applicable to the relation between leaders and subordinates in an

organization.

Some of the more recognizable research attempts to establish certain skills have been

carried out by Hogan & Lock (1995). In 2006, Klein did alongside colleagues, review 58

different theoretical frameworks including discussions on skills that in nature can be

classified as interpersonal. Their purpose was to uncover some core interpersonal skills

in the workplace. Klein et al. (2006) argued that their research offered a more

comprehensive and descriptive view on interpersonal skills than earlier research. Their

study managed to address twelve specific Interpersonal workplace skills, which are

classified into two themes, Interpersonal communication skills, and relationship-building

skills.

Klein et al. (2006) argues that all twelve skills are related to successful job performance

as well as other outcomes such as productivity and customer satisfaction. Riggio & Tan

(2013) finds Klein's research as a large step forward but suggests that it can be narrowed

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down even further to find room for measuring interpersonal skills and serve as a basis for

training interpersonal skills.

2.3 Interpersonal Communication

As mentioned in the previous part, Klein et al. (2006) named twelve specific managerial

Interpersonal skills. Many of these skills can be exercised both through face to face

interaction as well as through computer-mediated forms. Interpersonal Communication

significance to these skills is not discussed. However, Hewitt (2006) found that computer-

mediated forms of communication are less influential compared to Interpersonal

communication that takes place face to face. The computer mediated forms of

communication do, however, have some distinct advantages. Interpersonal

communication is lacking in the potential to provide the same equality of participation as

computer mediated form. Forms such as email might help reduce social barriers (Bordia,

1997), while it does also help increase efficiency and productivity (Asiamah et al., 2018)

Lee (2011) discovered that Interpersonal Communication was considerably more

appreciated by employees, compared to mediated forms of communication. Particularly

when sensitive issues were communicated and also throughout the phase of relationship

building. This view is shared by others, such as Jo and Shim (2005) arguing that

Interpersonal Communication has a positive influence on trust and relationship-building

as well as obtaining a better ability to transfer information. However, Chilcoat and

DeWine (1985) findings showed that visual contact can harm communication when the

primary focus is information sharing. Yet, even when the primary purpose is information

sharing, it is essential to be aware of that communication occurring between superior and

subordinate, will always include some type of relationship building. Therefore, the

relational message of communication is important (Penley & Hawkins, 1985). According

to Cameron & McCollum (1993), employees do prefer to receive Interpersonal

Communication over mediated communication. Employees tend to form a better trusting

attitude when Interpersonal Communication is used by their managers (Jo & Shim, 2005).

This is confirmed by more recent research pointing out that Interpersonal Communication

is the most effective type of internal communication and perceived to be more trustworthy

than other forms. Employees have a desire for face to face communication as it is the

more “communication-rich channel” and increase personal influence (White et al., 2010).

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Numerous studies have managed to prove that employee’s job satisfaction and in turn

performance is increasing when they feel involved in the internal communication (Gray

& Laidlaw, 2002; Bartoo & Sias, 2004; Rosenfeld, Richman, & May, 2004). Several

empirical findings suggest that job satisfaction are strongly related to motivation (Baard,

Deci & Ryan, 2004; Harrison et al., 2006). Ghofar et al. (2019) did in turn, on his research

on public service quality conclude that the level of involvement and commitment

employees feel towards their job was positively related to the level of Interpersonal

Communication used by management. Putri (2018) did through a quantitative study try

to find a correlation between Interpersonal Communication and employee satisfaction &

performance. The research findings suggested that a positive relationship do exist

between the factors.

Employees do tend to form better trusting attitudes towards their managers when

Interpersonal Communication is used (Jo and Shim, 2005). According to Creed & Miles

(1996) and McKnight et al. (1998), the beginning of the relationship is a critical time

regarding the development of trust within a organization. This matches with the

psychological research that states that an advantage of Interpersonal Communication is

that it is the better medium for Relationship-building (Lee, 2011). Furthermore, research

conducted by White et. Al. (2010) shows that employees are more satisfied with the

information they receive and feel a stronger responsibility towards their organization

when they have a personal relationship with the sender of the information and top

management. Rožman et al. (2017) investigated how motivation and job satisfaction are

depending on the age of the employee. They concluded that older and more experienced

employees tended to be motivated by for example autonomy at work and interpersonal

relationships.

2.4 Virtual Teams & Their Communication

Virtual teams are as discussed in the background section, a natural consequence and a

requirement for many organizations in a globalized society. Technological advancement

has improved the possibilities for how management can assess their employees in

different areas and time zones (Ivanaj & Bozon, 2016). Due to the lack of personal

interactions between managers and the virtual teams, measurement systems must be

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established to measure the performance of the virtual teams to ensure their efficiency

(Rico et al., 2011). Ferreira et al. (2012) argue that “performance measurement systems

are a part of a wider system including goal setting, feedback and reward systems”.

Performance rewards should be established to boost the incentives of performance for the

virtual teams (Ferreira et al, 2012). However, despite that advanced measurement systems

do exists, performance is hard to measure fairly between teams. The feedback of

performance assessment will not remain meaningful for all the virtual teams if the

assessment only relies on the measurement system indicators. Misunderstandings within

virtual teams may lead to conflict between team members and worsen efficiency and

performance. Therefore, it is essential to optimize communication technologies within

the organization that will assist the measurement systems (Ivanaj & Bozon, 2016).

A key driver for good performance within virtual teams is to smoothen the dispersion

within the team and enable a trustful sense of presence (De Leo et al., 2011). A perceived

sense of presence can be referred to as a sense of belonging to a team despite the distance

between the members. An essential factor to create a stronger sense of presence is

effective communication within the team (Trzcielinski & Wypych-Zolthowska, 2008).

The sense of presence is also directly influencing the employee's task motivation. This

shows the importance of establishing the necessary conditions for fulfilling the

employees' sense of presence (Lount et al., 2008). Rico et al. (2011) found a relationship

indicating that independent tasks are reducing interpersonal relationships which in turn,

negatively affects work motivation and task performance. The theories of sense of

presence are similar to Breuer et al. (2016) findings suggesting that team-trust was an

even more important factor for effectiveness within virtual teams compared to traditional

teams. Ivanaj & Bozon (2016) suggests that more extensive research is needed to be

conducted to better understand direct or indirect links between virtuality and

performance. Tse et al. (2008) inquire about research to deepen the understanding of the

role of emotions in motivating team members, especially in virtual teams where much

interaction between team members is computer mediated.

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2.5 Discussion

When reviewing the literature, some recurring themes appear. It stands clear that

managerial skills are a key factor for organizational success. The interpersonal skills that

Klein et al. (2006) identified are possible to exercise both face to face and with mediated

forms. Though the importance of interpersonal communication on the influence of these

skills is not mentioned, other research does clearly state interpersonal communication has

a few major advantages compared to mediated forms. Interpersonal communication

seems to build better trusting-attitudes towards the employer and is the more effective

type of medium for creating stronger relationships. Interpersonal communication does

also have a better tendency to increase the personal influence and involvement of the

employees. In turn, employees that feel involved are in general experiencing a greater job

satisfaction and motivation.

Challenges for virtual teams that especially stand out is the importance of trust within the

team to accomplish a high performance. Establishing sufficient technological systems to

ensure the sense of presence for the members is a key challenge when teams are working

virtually with less face-to-face interactions. If this implementation is to some extent

failing, it will lead to a less motivated team and decrease the team performance.

2.6 Identifying Gaps

Much research has examined performance in virtual teams, where a sense of presence and

trust towards the team is essential (Breuer et al., 2016, De Leo et al., 2011). However,

previous research has requested more research on understanding the factors influencing

performance in virtual teams (Ivanaj & Bozon, 2016). Specifically, the role of emotions

when motivating the members of virtual teams, where possibilities for face-to-face

interactions are different, have been pointed out as a possibility for future studies (Tse

et.al, 2008). Hence, the authors see a possibility to conduct research that will contribute

to the understanding of how motivation in virtual teams is influenced by the use of

interpersonal communication. Also, there is a need to examine how trust, which is crucial

for the performance of a virtual team, is influenced by the use of interpersonal

communication. This will contribute to existing literature by examining the implications

for virtual teams, where the specific circumstances limit the possibilities of interpersonal

communication. Also, managerial wise, this will help virtual team managers understand

if it is necessary to put a higher emphasis on interpersonal communication.

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3. Methodology

______________________________________________________________________

This section will give the reader an understanding for the methodology,

and the chosen methods applied to this research. In detail, the reader will

be presented to how the research is conducted, approached and designed,

followed by ethical issues and considerations.

______________________________________________________________________

3.1 Research Philosophy

The definition of a research philosophy is “A set or system of beliefs stemming from the

study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence” (Collis & Hussey,

2014). To simplify this definition, a research philosophy is the knowledge in a field or

subject (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). A research paradigm is a philosophical

standpoint and its goal is to act as a director on how a study or research should be

conducted. There are two major research paradigms, interpretivism and positivism.

Positivism is derived from natural science and is rooted in realism. Interpretivism, on the

other hand, is derived from the philosophy of idealism and originates from social sciences

(Collis & Hussey, 2014).

The first step for this research is to choose a research paradigm, to know which

philosophies and assumptions the authors operate under. The authors have chosen that

the philosophical stance for this research will be based on an interpretivist paradigm.

Interpretivism was developed due to the criticism that positivism had endured, arguing

that positivism failed to meet the need of social scientists (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The

purpose of a study under a interpretivist paradigm, as well as the author's purpose, is to

create new understandings of social science and it’s foundations. The paradigm follows

a belief that under different circumstances, different people with different cultures and

under different times will act and interpret meanings differently. An important part of an

interpretivist study is that the authors can understand and create reasonable meanings

16

about the thoughts that are expressed on the topic. Even though these are thoughts that

are constructed both socially and subjectively (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016).

According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016), a study under an interpretivist

paradigm is suitable for a research conducted within the field of business and

management, due to that the nature of many topics are within social science. This is

directly applicable to the study at hand. With this in mind, the choice by the authors to

follow a interpretivist paradigm as a philosophical stance, is a viable choice. There are

several aspects/challenges that the authors will need to take into consideration. One of

them being, according to Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2016), that the authors need fully

understand the interviewees and the participant’s understanding of the social world.

Therefore, it is crucial for the authors to put heavy weight into the interpretation and

analysis of the data collected from the participants.

3.2 Research Approach

There are two different dimensions related to the research approach. The approaches that

can be adopted are deductive research and inductive research. There is a high need to

decide upon what research approach to adapt early in the process of collecting data. Once

the decision has been taken about the research approach, it will simplify the decision

making on what methods that will be used for the data collection and the following

analysis (Li, Easterby-Smith & Bartunek, 2009). Deductive research is built on a

developed theoretical structure forming a specific hypothesis tested by empirical

observations. Inductive research, emerges on social science, compared to the deductive

that often takes place in scientific research. The inductive research is using individual

observations to make statements of general patterns, with this approach, a theory section

will be developed from the detailed observations (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The authors

argue that this study follows an inductive research approach. The study is not aiming at

answering any certain particular hypotheses built on general knowledge. Instead, the

authors analyzed existing literature to get a general knowledge on the topic, some themes

did appear which helped on forming questions for the interviews. Thereafter, interviews

were conducted. At this point, the authors found that trust was very relevant due to the

answers received in the interviews. From this, trust was added to the research question

and the frame of reference was reworked accordingly.

17

3.3 Purpose of Research Design

Research is most often classified by its purpose. There are several categories, including

exploratory, descriptive and analytical/explanatory or predictive (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

This research, aligning with most undergraduate level research (Collis & Hussey, 2014),

will incorporate an exploratory and descriptive purpose.

The aim with this research, following the general aim with exploratory research, is to look

for patterns and ideas within a topic (Collis & Hussey, 2014), as well as contributing to

the goal of understanding a certain phenomenon or problem (Saunders, Lewis, &

Thornhill, 2016). The authors need to gain insight and understand how interpersonal

communication might influence the motivation and trust of employees, which is where

an exploratory approach is highly suitable (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). This

will be achieved by conducting semi-structured interviews with majority open-ended

questions, following an inductive approach. The questions during an interview are most

likely to start with “What” or “How” in order as much insight as possible into the

phenomena researched. A great benefit that the authors derive from an exploratory

research, is that the research is adaptable to potential changes (Saunders, Lewis, &

Thornhill, 2016).

3.4 Research Method

Research can be conducted using either a qualitative or a quantitative method. The

difference between qualitative and quantitative collected data is mainly that qualitative

data gets presented in non-numerical form while the quantitative data is presented in

numerical form. Also, the qualitative data is analyzed by interpretative methods while the

quantitative data mostly are using statistical methods (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The data

collected for this paper is of the qualitative nature. The purpose with conducting a

qualitative method is to provide a detailed explanation of meanings from the observations

(Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). This corresponds well with the purpose of this

paper which is to provide a further richness of the existing knowledge on the topic. The

data collection will be made through in-depth interviews, which will provide rich data

that will enable the authors to analyze, find patterns and relationship with the purpose and

18

topic of this paper. Also, as this study holds a interpretivist paradigm the qualitative

method is the most suitable.

If need be, this study will also incorporate descriptive research. This would be in order to

being fully able to describe accurate and specific problems or phenomena (Collis &

Hussey, 2014). A descriptive research however will only be applied if the authors deem

it necessary due to lack of findings. The exploratory approach allows the authors to collect

data that is rich in detail, in order to fully understand the phenomena research. Due to the

abstract and subjective nature of the topic at hand, an exploratory approach is beneficial.

A final note; the authors cannot guarantee that the findings of this paper meets a need or

solves a problem but can rather contribute to current literature and open up possibilities

for future research.

3.5 Data Collection

3.5.1 Primary and Secondary Data

The data collected for this study consists of both primary and secondary data. Collis and

Hussey (2014) are defining primary data as information that are retrieved from an original

source. In this thesis primary data is collected through personal in-depth interviews with

members of the selected virtual team. Secondary sources are instead collected from

already existing sources (Collis & Hussey, 2014). For this study, a large amount of

secondary data has been retrieved from pre-existing sources such as peer-reviewed

journals and books. These sources will contribute to the development of the frame of

reference, provide valuable help in the empirical analysis and provide a high validity to

build conclusion on regarding the researched topic.

3.5.2 Sampling Method

A population can be described as a collection of people. In turn, a subset of a population

is called a sample. A sample is often used when it is impractical or impossible to reach

out to the entire population (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). In the case of this study,

it is not realistic to reach the entire population, and the authors will therefore use a

sampling method.

19

The authors have decided upon using purposive sampling. This means that the authors

have chosen participants working in a virtual team, and therefore suits the needs of the

study (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). The sample for this study, consist of five

employees and one manager working as a part of a virtual team, with members located

all around the world. The virtual team itself is part of a Swedish-based company. The

study's purpose demanded that interviews were conducted with members of a virtual

team. Therefore, it was important to get in contact with a multinational corporation.

Already established network connections allowed the authors to be put in touch with a

manager of a virtual team. From this, the manager provided contact information to

suitable people within his team. Contact with the participants were made while requesting

an interview with the manager. The members and the manager became the authors

sample, chosen to suit the purpose of the thesis.

3.5.3 Team & Company description

The chosen sample to participate in the interviews for this study did all belong to the same

virtual team. The six participants are located in four different countries. Participant #1 is

considered as the manager of the team while the rest have equal roles in the specific

regions, working with global sourcing. All of the participants have a high level of

seniority, with a minimum of 20 years of professional working experience. The company,

referred to as ‘Company X’ in this study, is a multinational corporation within the

information and technology industry. The headquarter is based in Sweden, while the

company is operating actively around the globe.

3.5.4 Semi-Structured in-depth interviews

Research interviews is described as a conversation that takes places between at least two

people. An interviewer asks questions towards the interviewee who in turn responds. The

interviews’ aim is to result in valid data relevant to the researched topic (Saunders, Lewis

& Thornhill, 2016). The authors have for this study decided upon conducting in-depth

interviews that are semi-structured and open-ended questions. The interviews will work

as a primary source and contribute to the empirical findings. Collis & Hussey (2014)

states that open-ended questions are contributing to better developed answers. The same

goes with a structure that is semi-structured, as it inspires the respondent to talk freely

20

and develop more detailed answers. It does also provide the interviewer with the

possibility to during the interview follow up with new questions. The authors deem that

there is a need to understand “the interviewees world” and establish a personal contact to

be able to create conclusions within the phenomena. This are some of the major benefits

of using a semi-structured in-depth interview method (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This

method is also very helpful to understand background and context of the acquired data,

which is highly appropriated for the purpose of this thesis. The next step after the

interviews is to evaluate the data and find patterns between the interviewee’s answers.

The interviews for this study were built by a number of open-ended questions. The

questions posed looked the same for all of the participants except one, the manager in the

team, participant #1. The questions for the manager were customized with a purpose to

explore how the team operates and difficulties as a manager. The questions can be found

in Appendix 1 & 2. Apart from the prepared questions, follow up questions occurred

based on the participants’ answers. The interviews were recorded and then later

transcribed.

3.5.5 Reliability and Validity

Reliability and Validity are aspects of credibility when it comes to research, are they are

essential in ensuring the quality of the research, as well as judgments (Saunders, Lewis

& Thornhill, 2016). Furthermore, Collis & Hussey (2014) defines reliability as “[...] the

accuracy and precision of the measurement and the absence of differences in the results

if the research were repeated”. While Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016) defines

validity as “[...] the appropriateness of the measures used, accuracy of the analysis of the

results and generalizability of the findings”.

Starting off with Validity, one can investigate the validity of a research by considering

questions such as “Are the measures used, appropriate for the intended purpose of the

study?”, “What do the research findings reflect?” or “Is the analysis of the findings highly

accurate?” (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill. 2016). Errors have the potential to weaken the

validity of a research, it may for example be misleading measurements or obtaining a

poor sample (Collis and Hussey, 2014). Furthermore, Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill

21

(2016) discusses that in-depth and semi-structured interviews conducted within a

qualitative research brings a high level of validity, as it gives the interviewee the

possibility to talk freely and give elaborate data. It is important that the interviews

conducted are conducted in a careful manner with clear questions, allowing the authors

to explore different aspects and angles of responses. Based on this discussion of validity

and the authors choice of conducting semi-structured interviews, the authors argue that

they have followed the general guidelines for ensuring strong validity. This has been

ensured by a careful selection of questions. That allows the interviewee a chance to

express their opinions and also try to elaborate on the factors behind it. The authors were

very careful during the interviews to not provide any sort of incitement or insinuate any

answers. The authors deem the research to have a high degree of validity concerning the

data collection and execution.

Reliability is an essential component when examining the research quality (Saunders,

Lewis and Thornhill, 2016). An important note is that reliability and sometimes even

validity can be interpret differently depending on whether it is within a interpretivist or

positivist study (Collis & Hussey, 2014). This research is of a qualitative nature with

interpretations that are created subjectively. Since this study is conducted under an

interpretivist paradigm, the need for consistency and replication is not as important as that

these socially constructed interpretations are understood (Collis & Hussey, 2014). To

simplify this, to ensure reliability, it is not as important for this research to be able to be

replicated with similar results, but rather that the answers and results are understood. One

measure to take to establish internal reliability, is that more than one researcher conduct

the interviews and analyze the data. Including more than one researcher in data collection

and analysis, will provide more viewpoints, interpretations and to a better extent remove

one-sided biases. The authors have been very careful regarding this, and all of the analysis

have been discussed and looked at by both of the authors. This research is qualitative and

is conducted with semi-structured interviews incorporating open-ended questions based

on the reality of the participants. It is therefore not realistic to ensure that this study can

be replicated in the future, which is supported by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2016).

The authors present a specific research design, alongside argued methods and strategic

choices, this will strengthen the reliability (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2016).

22

3.6 Data Analysis

When both the primary and secondary data are collected it will be further analyzed. Miles

and Huberman (1994) suggests that it exists a three-step process when analyzing

qualitative data. To begin with, the data must be reduced. For the reduction of the data,

the authors have chosen and simplified the data collected, as well as summarized,

organized and transformed the notes and transcriptions. In simpler terms, the authors have

gone through the data collected, and removed unnecessary data in order to single out the

relevant data to analyze and connect to the research question. In the second step, the

authors displayed the relevant data in a document. A document, which is described by

Collis & Hussey (2014) as “a visual format that presents information systematically”.

This display of data allowed the authors to draw conclusion and to detect possible

patterns, and notice similarities or similarities between the literature and empirical

findings. The final step is to draw conclusions based on the patterns, similarities or

dissimilarities of the data.

Furthermore, in the presentation of the analysis, the author will present the reader with

three factors that have a clear influence on motivation and trust; Interpersonal Relations,

Sense of Belonging and level of involvement. With these factors, relevant literature will

also be discussed to highlight similarities or dissimilarities. In the last steps of the

analysis, the authors will discuss the factors influence on motivation and trust and present

the reader with the influence Interpersonal communication has on the factors identified,

and the implications for virtual teams.

3.7 Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations and the intended use of the data is always highly important when

conducting research and writing a report. Since this study requires it, the authors will

collect information and data from an enterprise and individuals. It is therefore crucial that

for the authors to ensure that all participants are aware of what is requested of them, and

the intended use of the data. (Collis & Hussey, 2014). All participants have voluntarily

agreed to participate, and they have received information regarding why the authors

would like them to participate, what the authors expect from them, approximately how

much time it will take and the purpose of the thesis. The company itself, as well as all

participants will be anonymous throughout the entire thesis. The authors feel

23

that anonymity is essential for allowing the participant to speak freely and get reliable

data. Therefore, the participants will be referred to as Participant #1-7 and the company

will be referred to as “Company X.”.

4. Empirical Findings

______________________________________________________________________

Following section will present the reader with a summarization of the most relevant

collected data. The data will be presented one by one, for each factor. The reader will get

introduced to the participants answers regarding Interpersonal communication,

Interpersonal Relations, Sense of Belonging, Level of involvement, Motivation and Trust.

_____________________________________________________________

Interpersonal Relations, Sense of Belonging and Level of Involvement are factors that

have been pointed out in both the primary and secondary data collected, to be subjective

to and different in a virtual environment. These factors also have a relation to

interpersonal communication as well as motivation and trust. Therefore, the Empirical

Findings and Analysis will be structured accordingly.

4.1 Interpersonal Relations

From the collected data, two things regarding Interpersonal Relations can be seen. Firstly,

that almost all of the participants agreed to that Interpersonal communication do have an

important and strong influence in the early/building phase of good interpersonal relations;

Participant #6 “When working with new people, both coworkers and customers, we tend

to always meet face to face. To get to know each other. It is important to build up relations

at the start. Then, it is possible to work virtually.”

Participant #2 “Of course interpersonal communication is an important factor. But there

are also many other factors that influence”

Participant #3 “It’s not the same for someone that is new in a team, because for that

person it is essential to have those face to face interactions. That's the way I got to know

the people I've been working with very much”

24

The second finding is that these interpersonal relations, in turn, has an influence on the

level of motivation and job satisfaction the members felt in their work;

Participant #2 “Relations are key, especially when working virtually. We are very lucky

in our team. It is a quite unique mix of personalities and we get along very well. When we

see each other, we have a lot of fun, so it is a very good atmosphere. “

Participant #3 “For me personally, I think that the interpersonal relations has an

influence on my satisfaction. I know myself and I can be very transparent. For me the

feeling that my work is valued and that it is appreciated is important for me…”

Participant #5 “I think it's extremely important that I know that I've had the opportunity

to really get to know these people and I feel like we all work hard for the same mission”

4.2 Sense of Belonging

The findings derived from the data collected show that Interpersonal communication has

a strong influence on the sense of belonging the members feel towards their team, and

that sense of belonging is an important factor for them to feel satisfied.

Participant #5 “Absolutely, I believe that interpersonal communication helps the sense of

belonging. I like to feel that people know me […] there’s this trust and rapport and it

brings the team tighter, definitely”

Participant #4 “Being able to meet with my colleague once a week in the office and have

a coffee. I feel close to him, even out of the office we send each other jokes etc. It is

important for the sense of belonging to a certain group”

Participant #6 “Earlier you did much more face to face. You travelled to be there and

meet, and then you get even more sense of belonging.”

Furthermore, the findings and interviews can be interpreted to show that interpersonal

relations influence the sense of belonging felt.

25

4.3 Level of Involvement

Regarding the level of involvement, the findings do show that the use of interpersonal

communication do have an important part and strong influence in establishing that the

members feel a high level of involvement;

Participant #2 - “The more interpersonal communication the better level of involvement”

Participant #6 - “We have one or two times a year we meet face to face and that have

helped us a lot.”

Participant #3 - “I think that interpersonal communication helps a lot. It's a reinforces

the trust and also keep the level of team spirit and so forth”

Furthermore, the findings also suggest that a high level of involvement has a positive

influence on the motivation the members feel;

Participant #3 “Yeah, I do think that the level of involvement helps the motivation”

Participant #5 “[...]If I have an opinion on a subject then to me it's motivating too feel

like my voice is not only heard but that it has weight and merit[...]”

Participant #2 “As a rule I do think that the level of involvement helps the motivation.

There are other things influencing motivation, but that is one.”

Participant #5 “It can be harder to achieve a high level of involvement in a virtual team

if not managed correctly. The manager needs to find a way to bridge those gaps that

occur, so people do not feel disconnected”

The above findings were generally agreed on by all participants. However, one interesting

finding relating to the level of involvement, and especially expressed by one participant,

is that clear deliverables within a team can be a good way of achieving a high level of

involvement;

26

Participant #4 “Humans are evolving, technology is evolving, and humans are evolving

along with that. We are developing different ways of trusting each other and measure the

trust level. We are adapting, humans adapt to change.

”

Participant #4 “If you have deliverables for the team, let's say you have a project and the

project is run virtually. How can you measure that person is involved? By deliverables,

right? If you don’t specify them and what is expected, it is going to be hard to measure

that”

This also became transparent in discussions with other participants, when discussing the

importance of structure in virtual teams. They all agreed on that a clear division of labor

and responsibility is crucial.

Participant #5 “I think that having who is accountable for what and by what deadline is

important. I think clear deliverables is needed. Everybody needs to understand what

they're responsible to deliver and the output of their work”

Participant #1 “You need to be very precise in your communication and have an entirely

different operational plan. You need to clarify for everyone what is expected, from who it

is expected and when it is expected. You don’t have the same possibility to follow-up on

everything on a daily basis when working virtually”

4.4 Trust

Trust is the one factor that was discovered as highly important in the interviews. All

participants brought up trust as an important factor when working in a virtual team, and

furthermore that trust was built through interpersonal communication and the building of

interpersonal relations.

Participant #5 “I think it’s easier when you have those moments like Afterwork or a dinner

or the hallway grabbing a coffee. That for me is sometimes more important than the

meetings itself. In those moments that you find commonality, you talk about personal

interests and that's the time that you really start building that trust”

27

Participant #5 - “There's that level of trust there because of when we were together.”

Participant #2 - “A key factor in my opinion is trust. We also get on very well because we

trust each other. Because there is no one that disrupt the team in any way. If we have

things to do, we do it. These things are very important, especially when working

virtually.”

4.5 Motivation

Most of what can be seen with motivation is covered in the above parts. However, in

discussion with the manager of the team, he gave his view on when he believes the

members are motivated;

Participant #1 “The physical meetings. That’s when the motivation excels”

Participant #1 “I definitely think the physical meetings play their part in helping us

achieve this high level of motivation.”

While following this up with a general statement;

Participant #1 “The organization that does not have the physical meetings with the entire

team, a lot of them feel ‘off’ when they sit in their corners of the world. I have not had

that problem, but I know that many organizations have the problem with motivation.”

4.6 Other Findings

During the interviews and while looking at the findings, there is one important aspect of

the participants and the nature of the team that became clear. That is, that all of the

participants are senior and experienced workers, while the team is well-established, and

the members know each other well. All of the participants believe that their answers are

subjective to this and that it would be different for inexperienced or junior workers. Some

examples;

28

Participant #5 “I think early professionals typically work better as non-virtual where they

are all there together”

Participant #2 “When you don’t know the other person, it is much better to communicate

face to face. Because you see their reactions and what’s going on”

Participant #4 “It would be a different experience working virtually if you are a junior

worker. To keep you motivated, ongoing and really connected you need to do those

connections more frequently. You need to talk to your senior manager more frequently”

Furthermore, all of the participants were unanimous that they are highly motivated by

being given the autonomy and freedom that this type of virtual work provides;

Participate #6 “I would get irritated by micromanagement and my manager looking in

details. This would have been different in the beginning of my career. Then I would have

appreciated the guidance.”

Participant #2 “It is a culture of freedom and responsibility, that is what motivates me the

most”

Participant #3 “Freedom for me is essential. As I said from the very beginning of this

conversation, it would be very difficult for me to have a manager that is controlling or is

telling me what to do or how to do it.”

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5. Analysis; Interpretation

______________________________________________________________________

In this section of the thesis, the reader will be presented with the author’s analysis of the

findings with help of current literature. As previously mentioned, Interpersonal

Relations, Level of Involvement and Sense of belonging will be analyzed to investigate

how these factors are influenced by interpersonal communication, and how they in turn,

influence motivation and trust. These factors have been selected because they have been

pointed out in both primary and secondary data as important in a virtual environment.

_____________________________________________________________

5.1 Interpersonal Relations & Sense of Belonging

When looking into the literature, and analyzing the findings, it is clear that Interpersonal

Communication is an important part in building interpersonal relations. All of the

interview participants did unanimously agree on that the use of interpersonal

communication and face-to-face interactions are crucial when building an interpersonal

relationship with a colleague. This is supported by Lee (2011) and Jo & Shim (2005),

both arguing that interpersonal communication is an important part of relationship

building. Lee (2011) further concludes that the advantage of interpersonal communication

is that it is a better medium for building relations. Most of the participants, expressed that

they would prefer to take sensitive issues, personal or otherwise, through face-to-face

interaction, which was also found by Lee (2011), concluding that interpersonal

communication was more appreciated, especially when sensitive issues were

communicated.

All participants did clearly state that they found the meetings, when they all meet up once

or twice per year, to have been a key factor for building the strong interpersonal relations

they all consider that the team is having. They all believe that the possibility to get to

know each other face-to-face gives them a better possibility to know each other in person,

which later positively affect their relations when working remotely. They did all,

however, believe that the amount of time they spent together were enough to maintain the

relations they already have. It stands clear that it is not so much about the frequency, but

rather that they do meet from time to time. However, most of them also stated that a new

30

team should preferably meet face to face more often, to accomplish building strong

relationships to each other. Once good interpersonal relationships exist, the need for

interpersonal communication reduces, but is still important. Which once again agrees

with the conclusions of Lee (2011) and Jo & Shim (2005).

Furthermore, on this topic, it is clear from the findings that good interpersonal relations

within the team leads to a better sense of belonging. They all do believe that the sense of

belonging gets built through interpersonal communication. Rico et. Al (2011) found that

independent tasks are reducing interpersonal relations, which in turn leads to a decrease

in motivation and task performance. This risk becomes even higher in virtual teams,

where the operations are primarily built on independent tasks. Therefore, in alignment

with the findings, interpersonal communication is an important factor in building, and to

an extent maintaining interpersonal relations. Especially due to the risk of these relations

being reduced due to the nature of the tasks. As an example, the participant agrees on that

the yearly meetings have a very positive influence on the sense of belonging they feel for

the team.

5.2 Level of Involvement

When asked about level of involvement, it is clear from the participants answers that their

motivation gets positively influenced when they have a high level of involvement in the

communication within the team. This was an expected response, since there are numerous

studies showing that employees’ job satisfaction is increased the more, they feel involved

in the communication (Gray & Laidlaw, 2002; Bartoo & Sias, 2004; Rosenfeld, Richman,

& May, 2004). The findings suggest that it is important for a manager to really put in an

effort to bridge the gaps occurring when working in a virtual team and the interpersonal

communication is not a possibility, to ensure involvement. It is important that employees

feel that their voice is heard and carries some decisive weight. That it is not only a one-

way communication. These findings agree with Ghofar et.al (2019), arguing that

interpersonal communication can help with ensuring a high level of involvement, but our

findings also suggests that it may not be a necessity. The majority of participants rather

thought that structure within the virtual team was more important, referring to the quite

‘military’-based structure the manager, participant #1, conducted. Ferreira et al (2012)

argued that performance measurements should be established in virtual teams to increase

31

the incentives. Especially participant #4, expresses the importance of this, stating that

level of involvement should be measured and encouraged by deliverables. This is also

noticeable with the other participants, where all think that clear deliverables are

important. But it is obvious that deliverables need to be built up and clearly defined by

good communication within the team. Worth noting is that the participants in this study

are all very experienced. The members of the virtual team are very used to work remotely

and are referring to it as the new normal. It is possible that less experienced employees’

level of involvement would be more related to the use of interpersonal communication.

5.3 Trust

According to the literature, interpersonal communication is important for the level of trust

built within a team, and between manager and employees. Interpersonal communication

has a positive influence on trust and employees tend to build better trusting attitudes

toward their manager when interpersonal communication is used (Jo & Shim, 2005).

Adding to this, Breuer et Al (2016) found that team trust may be even more important in

virtual teams than traditional ones. This is something that is confirmed in our findings.

As Participant #2 believed, and the rest of the participants indicated, trust is the single

most important factor for building strong relations when working in a virtual team. It is

to be said, that the findings show that the level of seniority and experience of the members

do create a foundation of trust from the start, but it is not the most important factor. As

stated, trust is important for building strong relations, but the findings also indicate that

good interpersonal relations are an important factor for building trust. All of the

participants were unanimous in that interpersonal relations they had built with one another

was essential in the trust they felt and that this trust in turn allowed them to work virtually

with success. As Participant #5 stated, that when you have the possibility to really get to

know each other, and perhaps be a bit vulnerable, it allows for trust to be built, and this

trust allows the team to be a lot more when they are not together.

Further, this is applied to sense of belonging as well, where the findings indicate that a

good sense of belonging leads to trust, and trust leads to a better sense of belonging. Creed

& Miles (1996) and McKnight et al. (1998) findings conclude that specifically the

beginning of a relationship is critical for the building of trust. As trust is encouraged by

strong interpersonal relationships, it shows on the importance for interpersonal

32

communication in the early phases of a relationships for the establishment of trust.

These findings create further pressure on that the team consists of the right individuals

and personalities, with the right skillset for collaborating virtually. Judging from the

answers given by the participants, simply all people would not be able to work together,

and especially not virtually. Regarding the level of involvement, its influence on trust

within the team are more related to the performance of the deliverables than the type of

communication used.

A final note, since trust is to a big extent built through interpersonal relations and sense

of belonging within the virtual team, interpersonal communication has a greater

importance in the building of trust, and it loses some weight when trust has

become strong. When the trust has been built, it is rather maintained through performance

and deliverables.

5.4 Motivation

Again, just as Gray & Laidlaw (2002), Bartoo & Sias (2004) and Rosenfeld, Richman &

May (2004), the findings from the data collected also indicates that the employees achieve

a higher level of job satisfaction if they feel involved in the communication. The results

show that a high level of involvement will increase the motivation of the employees.

However, the results also indicate that there are different ways of ensuring a high level of

involvement. The level of involvement can be created through the use of interpersonal

communication, but it can also be achieved by deliverables, or a combination of the two.

Furthermore, which management style that is appropriate is mainly depending on the

dynamics of the team. This becomes clear in a virtual team, with minimal possibilities for

face-to-face interactions. Where deliverables carry a heavy weight in ensuring a good

level of involvement. Therefore, interpersonal communication can help with a high level

of involvement, but when operating in a virtual team, deliverables can be a more useful

tool to achieve motivation through level of involvement.

However, just as Ivanaj & Bozon (2016) argues, measurement systems may lead to

misunderstandings which may harm the efficiency and performance within the team. This

will likely negatively affect the motivation of the team members. This makes it essential

33

to have a good communication within the team. The participants of this study argued that

it is always easier to cooperate with people they have a strong relation with and that there

is a risk that they would avoid talking to people they do not get along with. This shows

on the importance of a great sense of belonging, built by strong interpersonal relations

within the team. Just as De Leo et.al (2011) suggest that to ensure performance within

virtual teams it is important to smoothen the dispersion within the team and enable a

trustful sense of presence. Therefore, deliverables need to be backed up by strong

relations in order to successfully create a good level of involvement and motivation.

Moving on with interpersonal relations and sense of belonging, almost all of the

participants agreed on that good interpersonal relations and a strong sense of belonging

increased their job motivation. This finding is in alignment with Lount (2008), which

argues that sense of belonging has a direct influence on the employee’s task motivation,

and it strengthens Rico et Al (2011) research that concludes that reduced interpersonal

relations negatively impact employees task motivation and performance. When including

interpersonal communications, it is indirectly influencing motivation. As stated

previously, the findings show that interpersonal communication is an important factor in

establishing interpersonal relations, sense of belonging and it can help achieve a good

level of involvement. Which are all factors that, also according to our findings, have a

positive influence on the motivation of the participants. Important to note however, is that

interpersonal communication has a more important role in the building-stage of

interpersonal relations and sense of belonging and is therefore more influential in the

beginning of a team.

The participants of the study did clearly express that their motivation was very influenced

by the autonomy of their work. They all said that they would feel very dissatisfied if their

manager performed some form of micromanaging. However, they all are very

experienced and said that this would have been different in the beginning of the career.

At the time they had less experience, they felt a larger need for more frequent

communication and more supervision by management. This tells that what makes an

employee motivated will be dependent on previous experience. Where interpersonal

34

communication will be more important for less experienced people, while senior workers

by a larger extent will get motivated by autonomy and freedom.

35

6. Conclusion

______________________________________________________________________

This section will present the reader with the main findings of the thesis,

with focus on how Interpersonal Communication influences the motivation

and trust in a virtual team.

_____________________________________________________________

The purpose of this thesis has been to provide insight on the influence interpersonal

communication has on employee motivation and trust in virtual teams, as the possibilities

of interpersonal communication is limited under virtual circumstances. By conducting a

qualitative study, and implementing secondary data, the findings have contributed to the

conclusions made about the influence interpersonal communication has on trust and

motivation in virtual teams.

RQ: How is motivation and trust within a virtual team influenced by

interpersonal communication?

The first conclusion to be made, is that the use of Interpersonal Communication is highly

important when building interpersonal relations and in establishing a strong sense of

belonging to a team. The importance of interpersonal communication is highest in the

beginning of a relation. Once a good relationship is established and the focus is rather on

maintaining the relationship, the need for interpersonal communication reduces.

However, it is not irrelevant. Furthermore, the authors can conclude that interpersonal

communication can be a useful tool when establishing a high level of involvement, but

that it is not a necessity. Virtual teams may be more suited to achieve a high level of

involvement through clear deliverables. It is essential for a virtual team to ensure a high

level of involvement, since it has a positive influence on motivation.

Due to that the authors in the analysis pointed out that good interpersonal relations within

a team, and a strong sense of belonging to the team has a positive influence on motivation.

The authors can subsequently conclude that interpersonal communication has an

indirectly strong influence on the motivation in virtual teams, through interpersonal

relations and sense of belonging. Especially in the early stages of the team.

36

Regarding trust, the authors conclude that trust is an essential factor for a virtual team to

be successful, and that trust is partially built through, and maintained by, good

interpersonal relations. Once again, since good interpersonal relations are built through

the use of interpersonal communication, the authors conclude that Interpersonal

communication has an important influence on the level of trust achieved in a virtual team.

A final conclusion to be made, is that interpersonal communication has either a lower or

higher influence on trust and motivation, depending on the seniority and experience of

the team members. The authors conclude that interpersonal communication is more

influential and desirable in teams with less experienced member

37

7. Discussion

______________________________________________________________________

This section will present the reader with the considered limitations for this

study. Also, the authors will propose opportunities for future research

within the topic.

_____________________________________________________________

7.1 Limitations

The authors have considered several different limitations of the thesis. The first limitation

is concerning the sample size that was chosen. The authors have investigated and

interviewed members of the same virtual team. The individuals interviewed come from

different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, which may have a positive impact when

generalizing the findings. However, as they all have operated in the same team for several

years, there may very well be an influence from the culture built within the team, that all

members share. Another virtual team, with different culture, management style and group

dynamics might get influenced by other factors. Therefore, a broader sample spanning

between different virtual teams could have given more or different, nuanced answers.

Despite this, the authors argue the cultural and geographical diversity existing in the team

is sufficient for the purpose.

Considering that the authors have conducted a qualitative research through in-depth

interviews that consisted of semi-structured open-ended questions, this might very well

have an effect on the results when considering the accuracy of the conclusions in regard

the research question. Due to that the answers given by the interviewees could be quite

spread and left open for interpretation. Hence, when the authors compare the answers to

the literature, there is a chance for errors to develop and the content can be misinterpreted.

In order to decrease the risk of this, the authors have treated the findings conscientiously

and objectively, in an attempt to not let any individual biases, affect the interpretation of

the findings. Both of the authors have examined the findings, analysis and conclusions

drawn.

38

Furthermore, two out of the six interviews that took place were conducted in Swedish, to

later be translated into English. For these two interviews, the authors considered Swedish

as the accurate choice, since it was the native language of the participants and the authors.

However, due to that the choice was made, there is a chance of errors occurring in

transcriptions and translations of the data. Since the translation was managed by the

authors, the same words and meaning may be difficult to accurately translate. There is a

risk that some misinterpretations have appeared, as some words can have various

synonyms and tone of voice.

The last limitation considered by the authors is concerning the literature and definitions.

The fact that there are no agreed upon definition of interpersonal communication by

previous literature, the circumstances have pushed the authors to choose one of the

various definitions brought forward. The chosen definition was made in order to

strengthen the purpose of the thesis. Since it is important for the authors to put an

emphasis on the limited possibilities for face-to-face interactions in virtual team, the

chosen definition provides valuable help. The definition does also make a clear distinction

on what can be classified as interpersonal communication, which is important in a digital

society. However, it has the potential to limit the research in terms of actual outcome and

in relation to previous and future literature.

7.2 Proposals for further Research

The authors suggest for future research to further investigate the topic of interpersonal

communication and its influence on organizations and their performance. The authors

suggest that conducting a similar research, but with a wider and larger sample, that

involves more teams, perhaps across sectors, would provide and ensure a more accurate

result. Furthermore, as the participants in this study are experienced workers within their

field. The authors believe that an opportunity for further research is to investigate the

same topic on an inexperienced workforce, to contribute to clarity and understanding.

Also, to investigate virtual teams where there is a mix between seniority and juniority in

the workforce.

The participants interviewed in the study were all very aware of the advantages and

disadvantage of working virtually. Established virtual teams are well-adapted to working

remotely, while ‘traditional’ teams are not. Therefore, the authors see a need in

39

researching how traditional teams and organizations can proactively work and structure

the organization to manage the process of becoming more virtual if the need presents

itself. A perfect example of such a need, is the COVID-19 pandemic, that forces many

teams and organizations to work remotely and virtually.

The authors have touched slightly upon the topic of leadership and management styles

and concluded that structure is an important part. However, the authors recommend that

this topic can be further research, to investigate what types of leadership or management

style is the most suitable and efficient for operating virtual teams.

40

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9. Appendices

9.1 Appendix 1

Interview with manager Can you tell a little about yourself? How is your team built up? What are the challenges with managing a virtual team? How does communication look in your team?

• On every day and annual basis

Are there any specific types of issues you prefer take interpersonal and not through for example email? What risks get lost when the barriers are large for communication to take place face to face? Do you experience that you get any different types of responses when using face to face communication? How is the need for face to face different when communicating to a new member of the team compared to more experienced members? What differences do you experience when using real life face to face communication instead of for example skype? How is your relation different between Swedish subordinate and the others? Do you believe this affect their level of involvement or motivation any particular? What are the benefits or working closely to this person? How do you establish a sense of belonging in the team? Is it harder to establish it in a virtual team? Is there any time you experience that the members motivation is boosted?

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9.2

9.2 Appendix 2

• Tell us a little bit about yourself, past working experiences and your current job

• How would you describe the communication between you and your manager?

• What are the disadvantages with your chosen type of communication compared

to more interpersonal communication?

• What specific types of issues do you prefer to take interpersonal and not through

for example email?

• What influence does Interpersonal communication have on the level of

involvement you feel?

• What influence does Interpersonal communication have on the trust you feel?

• How do you think a virtual team can work to make sure to encourage the level

of involvement?

• What are the benefits of feeling more involved? Do you get more motivated?

• Would you say that interpersonal relations are important for you to feel

satisfied? and do you believe that face-to-face (interpersonal communication)

plays a big part in the building of these relations?

• What are the downsides to working virtually? Do you believe there is a

reduction in motivation?

• How big a part would you say communication is in your work?

• What influence do Interpersonal communication have on the sense of belonging

you feel?