Date

4-26-2024

Department

Graduate School of Business

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Chair

Melissa A. Connell

Keywords

leadership, virtual teams, collaboration, communication, trust

Disciplines

Business | Leadership Studies

Abstract

This research study focused on leadership's role in building relationships among virtual team members. A qualitative case study, the research focused on organizations in the medical device industry within the Charlotte Metropolitan region of North Carolina. The research was formed using 15 open ended questions in an interview of 20 leaders of virtual teams. Each leader was interviewed individually and allowed to elaborate on their answers to help the researcher to thoroughly understand the approach used to help the relationships form among their virtual team members. During the interview, the discussion between the researcher and the leader being interviewed covered many topics that helped to identify the emerging themes for this research. After the interviews were completed, the responses were transcribed and coded. There were three themes which emerged during the data analysis process. These themes were (1) the importance of collaboration, (2) the need of sufficient tools for communication, and (3) the importance of face-to-face interaction to build relationships. The results of these emerging themes illustrates the importance for leaders of virtual teams to create opportunities for the team members to collaborate and develop a level of trust among their colleagues. This development of trust helps to ensure the team members will look to their colleagues for input on topics that may be difficult to resolve, as well as building relationships and often having conversations and resolving issues without input from leadership.

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