The Joint Relationships of Communication Behaviors and Task Interdependence on Trust Building and Change in Virtual Project Teams Articles uri icon

authors

  • RICO, RAMON
  • ALCOVER, CARLOS MARÍA
  • SANCHEZ MANZANARES, MIRIAM
  • GIL, FRANCISCO

publication date

  • June 2009

start page

  • 229

end page

  • 255

issue

  • 48

volume

  • 2

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0539-0184

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1461-7412

abstract

  • The study presented in this article examined how specific communication behaviors among team members interacted with task interdependence in relation to the building and changing of trust within 53 virtual project teams. At the mid-point of the teams' projects, our results showed that task-oriented communications among team members related significantly to trust, and that communications conveying enthusiasm related to trust only under conditions of low task interdependence. At the end of a team's project, trust among team members related positively to predictability of communications and substantive responses under higher levels of task interdependence. These findings develop extant trust theory in virtual teams, suggesting some useful guidelines to better understand and manage trust processes.