What Organizational Support is Needed for Effective Virtual Teams? A Synthesis of Evidence

Rapid and continuing advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have transformed how we live and work by loosening the constraints of time and place. Many organizations are looking to increase their efficiency and productivity by taking advantage of the possibilities created by these technological advances. The use of effective virtual teams is one approach organizations can use to harness the potential of these technological advances to achieve their mission and goals more effectively.;The purpose of this study is to identify organizational support mechanisms needed by effective virtual teams. The research question investigated is, "What organizational support is needed for effective virtual teams?" This study uses the evidence-based research synthesis (EBRS) method of configurational analysis to investigate the research question. Using this methodology, 144 research studies were evaluated with 31 selected as relevant to this research.;The research findings identified the following six organizational support mechanisms needed for effective virtual teams: Communication Standards, Virtual Team Leadership Development, Virtual Team Member Development, Information and Communication Technology Standards, Common Work Practices and Virtual Team Formation Guidelines.