Research on How Team Interpersonal Processes Influence Commitment of Virtual Teams in Technology Companies; A Case of Tencent (Dissertation Sample)

Research on How Team Interpersonal Processes Influence Commitment of Virtual Teams in Technology Companies; A Case Of Tencent Abstract Virtual teams are increasingly becoming commonplace in modern day workplace. Companies are noticing the need to shift towards virtual work, a phenomenon that is predicted to last. Organisational team leaders must rethink how their teams work and ways of enhancing commitment among employees working virtually. Therefore, the aim of this research was to establish how team interpersonal processes influence commitment of virtual teams in technology companies with Tencent as the case study. Utilising the qualitative research design, this research collected data from 8 employees in Tencent through interviews. Through thematic analysis this research established that conflict management, motivation and confidence building, and affect management are apparent in virtual teams at Tencent. Further, these interpersonal processes have a positive impact on the commitment of virtual teams in the company. Based on these findings, this research recommends that regarding conflict management enhancing the communication channels utilised by virtual teams in the company to create space for healthy and respectful debate. In terms of motivation and confidence building, it is recommended that the organisation takes the role of creating a safe space where virtual team members can be encouraged. This will not only lead to a collective confidence but also team commitment to accomplish assigned goals and objectives. In terms of affect management, this research recommends that Tencent should create a safe space where virtual team members can support each other in managing emotions. This will translate to commitment in the virtual teams as every member is aware that they can achieve support from others when things get too frustrating or exciting. Table of contents  TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335522"
Chapter 1: Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc129335522 \h
1  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335523"
1.1 Research background  PAGEREF _Toc129335523 \h
1  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335524"
1.2 Research rationale  PAGEREF _Toc129335524 \h
2  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335525"
1.3 Research aim and objectives  PAGEREF _Toc129335525 \h
2  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335526"
1.4 Research structure  PAGEREF _Toc129335526 \h
3  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335527"
Chapter 2: Literature Review  PAGEREF _Toc129335527 \h
4  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335528"
2.1 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc129335528 \h
4  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335529"
2.2 Concept of employee commitment to virtual teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335529 \h
4  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335530"
2.3 Team Interpersonal Processes  PAGEREF _Toc129335530 \h
4  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335531"
2.4 Impact of Conflict Management on the Commitment of Virtual Teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335531 \h
5  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335532"
2.4.1 Impact of Conflict Management on the Commitment of Virtual Teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335532 \h
5  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335533"
2.4.2 Impact of Motivating and Confidence Building on Commitment of Virtual Teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335533 \h
7  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335534"
2.4.3 Impact of Affect Management on Commitment of Virtual Teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335534 \h
8  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335535"
2.5 Research Gaps  PAGEREF _Toc129335535 \h
10  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335536"
2.6 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc129335536 \h
10  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335537"
Chapter 3: Research methodology  PAGEREF _Toc129335537 \h
12  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335538"
3.1 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc129335538 \h
12  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335539"
3.2 Research philosophy  PAGEREF _Toc129335539 \h
12  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335540"
3.3 Research approach  PAGEREF _Toc129335540 \h
13  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335541"
3.4 Data collection technique and process  PAGEREF _Toc129335541 \h
14  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335542"
3.5 Data analysis  PAGEREF _Toc129335542 \h
16  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335543"
3.6 Ethical consideration  PAGEREF _Toc129335543 \h
17  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335544"
3.7 Limitation of the study  PAGEREF _Toc129335544 \h
17  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335545"
3.8 Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc129335545 \h
17  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335546"
Chapter 4: Findings and analysis  PAGEREF _Toc129335546 \h
18  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335547"
4.1 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc129335547 \h
18  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335548"
4.2 Interpersonal processes of virtual teams at Tencent  PAGEREF _Toc129335548 \h
18  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335549"
4.3 The impact of team interpersonal processes on commitment of virtual teams at Tencent  PAGEREF _Toc129335549 \h
21  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335550"
4.5 Recommendations on how to enhance team interpersonal processes to increase commitment of virtual teams  PAGEREF _Toc129335550 \h
23  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335551"
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc129335551 \h
27  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335552"
5.1 Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc129335552 \h
27  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335553"
5.2 Conclusions  PAGEREF _Toc129335553 \h
27  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335554"
5.2.1 To assess interpersonal processes of virtual teams at Tencent  PAGEREF _Toc129335554 \h
27  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335555"
5.2.2 To analyse the impact of team interpersonal processes on commitment of virtual teams at Tencent  PAGEREF _Toc129335555 \h
28  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335556"
5.2.3 To offer recommendations on how to enhance team interpersonal processes to increase commitment of virtual teams at Tencent  PAGEREF _Toc129335556 \h
29  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335557"
5.4 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies  PAGEREF _Toc129335557 \h
30  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335558"
References  PAGEREF _Toc129335558 \h
31  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335559"
Appendices  PAGEREF _Toc129335559 \h
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Appendix 1: Interview outline  PAGEREF _Toc129335560 \h
36  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc129335561"
Appendix 2: Thematic analysis table  PAGEREF _Toc129335561 \h
37  Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Research background Virtual teams are increasingly becoming commonplace in modern day workplace. Information and communication technology (ICT) development especially in the software sector has created new ways of configuring remote team work on a larger capacity (Garro-Abarca, et al., 2021). Companies are noticing the need to shift towards virtual work, a phenomenon that is predicted to last (Flavian, Guinaliu and Jordan, 2022). Organisational team leaders have to rethink how their teams work and ways of enhancing commitment among employees working virtually. Virtual teams manage most of their interactions through ICT hence the need for effectiveness. This calls for managers to focus on interpersonal interactions through ICT and how this affects important interpersonal processes namely motivation and confidence building, conflict management as well as affect management (Maruping and Agarwal, 2004). These are essential processes that ensure cohesiveness in virtual teams and the emotional stability of team members for productivity and performance. Dinh, et al. (2021) argue that interpersonal processes in the virtual workspace ensure that team members attain a common objective assigned to them effectively. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore how the interpersonal process in virtual teams...