Discontinuities and Constructed Continuities in Virtual Work
Information Systems Journal, Forthcoming
34 Pages Posted: 31 Jan 2011
Date Written: September 9, 2010
Abstract
Boundaries such as time, distance, organization, and culture have been a useful conceptual tool for researchers to unpack changes in the virtual work environment, moving from a dichotomous perspective that contrasts face-to-face (FTF) and virtual work to a more nuanced hybrid perspective. However, researchers may tacitly assume that all members of a virtual team and virtual teams collectively will respond to a boundary in a similar way. We posit instead that boundaries are a dynamic phenomenon and may have different consequences under different circumstances. We offer the language of discontinuities and continuities as a tool for more focused investigation of the virtual work environment. Discontinuities and continuities describe the setting in which individuals in a virtual team operate, both actual work practices and the perceptions of the individuals in the virtual work environment. The terms offer a starting point to identify and understand what may otherwise seem to be paradoxical differences in how virtual team members respond to boundaries.
Keywords: Virtual Work, Boundaries, Discontinuities, Continuities, Organizational Discontinuities Theory
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