Managing free‐ride in global virtual teams: ARTICLES

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects and implications of free‐ride within culturally diverse virtual teams (VTs).

Design/methodology/approach

Game theoretic concepts were applied to model the phenomenon of free‐ride within global VTs. Further, longitudinal data were collected to verify the validity of the applied methodology.

Findings

It was found that less competent group members tend to engage more often in free‐ride at the cost of their fellows. Socio‐cultural factors have significant impact on the amount and timing of reporting free‐ride. Larger groups experience free‐ride at higher rates compared to smaller groups.

Research limitations/implications

The experiments are conducted in a controlled lab environment that may not mimic the real‐world global VT dynamics.

Practical implications

Business managers could use the results in this paper to form more effective and productive VTs by paying attention to group size and cultural effects on group behavior.

Originality/value

Game theoretic concepts have long been applied to traditional groups to study their dynamics. This work applies those concepts to VTs along with studying the cultural effects on the phenomenon of free‐ride.

Citation

Parssian, A. (2010), "Managing free‐ride in global virtual teams: ARTICLES", Journal of Systems and Information Technology, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 248-262. https://doi.org/10.1108/13287261011095789