| Scope of study. This dissertation summarizes research done in assessing the influence of leadership attributes on the motivation of virtual teams. This study identifies the perceptions of a virtual team leader's traits, behaviors, decision styles, and power types. To obtain the quantitative data for the study, a survey with a Cronbach alpha of .902 was distributed to 526 virtual team members working with the Facilities Management organization of a major automotive manufacturer across North America. These attributes, based on various models including the Transactional Leadership model and the Path Goal theory, were then applied to the following regression equation: VTM = Coefficient * Traits + Coefficient * Behaviors + Coefficient * Decision Styles + Coefficient * Power Types + Intercept. The four leadership attributes used were composed of 18 variables, of which supportive, directive, participative, and achievement are the distinct 4 of 18 variables that defined the behavior attributes used in this study.; Findings and conclusions. Using multiple regression analysis, the findings indicated there is a relationship between the selected virtual team leaders' attributes and the motivation of a virtual team. However, only one variable among the four was found to be the statistically significant and thus a source accounting for variation in virtual team motivation: behavior. This suggests support for the Path Goal theory in the virtual environment and that a significant attribute of a virtual leader is her behavior with respect to virtual team motivation. In addition, further multiple regression analyses suggested that supportive behavior was found to have statistically significant contribution to the correlation between leaders' behavior and the perceived motivation in virtual teams. Furthermore, the findings suggest that virtual leaders' behavior, besides having statistically significant correlation with virtual team motivation, also has a strong positive correlation with the traits and decision styles of the leader. The study findings also suggest that a reasonable emphasis should be placed on leaders' behaviors if virtual teams are to be motivated. |
