Project management of virtual teams: A qualitative inquiry
Acsai, Gyöngyver Husztáné (2016)
2016
Master's Degree Programme in Business Competence
Johtamiskorkeakoulu - School of Management
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2016-06-07
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201606101884
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:uta-201606101884
Tiivistelmä
From the last century every aspects of life have been revolutionised by numerous Information Technology (IT) developments and by the expansion of the Internet. Physical boundaries for information availability, or for collaboration and communication no longer exist in the society of information. In relevance to new work forms, members of the same teams do not necessarily have to sit next to each other in order to contribute to the same project. Virtual project management has become a widely spread form of cooperation. In parallel, a new IT technology, namely cloud computing has been developed, and it has been spreading with an amazing speed all around the world.
In light of the above, the purpose of this research is to identify the perceived advantages and challenges in the project management of virtual teams. Furthermore, this study aims to reveal the supportive functions of cloud computing tools in the project management of virtual teams. Purposing the research questions, this thesis is philosophically based on the hermeneutic paradigm of qualitative methodology. The research data was generated through online questionnaire surveys with 21 virtual team participants, including members and managers, and through qualitative interviews conducted with 5 virtual project managers.
The theoretical framework of the research at first describes conventional project management in general, then a new line of project management is introduced. Furthermore, the concepts of virtual team and cloud computing, and their benefits and disadvantages are expounded based on the review of previous academic literature. To add more, preceding studies related to the connection of virtual project management and cloud computing are discussed.
Based on the results of this thesis, five supported advantages and six supported challenges in the project management of virtual teams have been identified. Other emerging advantages and challenges have been found as well. Furthermore, the results indicate that cloud computing tools are necessities in virtual project management, and adopting cloud computing supports achieving higher efficiency and better decision making within the virtual team. Also, several indirect consequences of cloud computing adoption in virtual project management have been revealed by this master s thesis.
All in all, as results of this master s thesis, better insights about virtual project management and about the supporting functions of cloud computing adoption in the project management of virtual teams have been gained. The findings may assist virtual project managers and companies using virtual teams in creating more effective processes, and collaborations with faster information flow, and with less frustration among the members.
In light of the above, the purpose of this research is to identify the perceived advantages and challenges in the project management of virtual teams. Furthermore, this study aims to reveal the supportive functions of cloud computing tools in the project management of virtual teams. Purposing the research questions, this thesis is philosophically based on the hermeneutic paradigm of qualitative methodology. The research data was generated through online questionnaire surveys with 21 virtual team participants, including members and managers, and through qualitative interviews conducted with 5 virtual project managers.
The theoretical framework of the research at first describes conventional project management in general, then a new line of project management is introduced. Furthermore, the concepts of virtual team and cloud computing, and their benefits and disadvantages are expounded based on the review of previous academic literature. To add more, preceding studies related to the connection of virtual project management and cloud computing are discussed.
Based on the results of this thesis, five supported advantages and six supported challenges in the project management of virtual teams have been identified. Other emerging advantages and challenges have been found as well. Furthermore, the results indicate that cloud computing tools are necessities in virtual project management, and adopting cloud computing supports achieving higher efficiency and better decision making within the virtual team. Also, several indirect consequences of cloud computing adoption in virtual project management have been revealed by this master s thesis.
All in all, as results of this master s thesis, better insights about virtual project management and about the supporting functions of cloud computing adoption in the project management of virtual teams have been gained. The findings may assist virtual project managers and companies using virtual teams in creating more effective processes, and collaborations with faster information flow, and with less frustration among the members.