The role of temporal coordination for the fuzzy front-end of innovation in virtual teams |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex, United Kingdom;2. School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom;3. Kent Business School, University of Kent, United Kingdom;1. School of Business, Taishan University, Taian, 271000, China;2. Post-Doctoral Scientific Research Workstation, China Merchants Bank, Shenzhen, 518040, China;3. College of Business and Administration, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China;4. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China;1. Panasonic Avionics Corporation, USA;2. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA;3. Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Saudi Arabia;1. School of Information, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China;2. Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, we study the role of temporal coordination in managing the early stages of innovation (aka fuzzy front-end) in the context of virtual teams. Following a comparative case study approach, we detail the role of temporal coordination through the study of two contrasting virtual teams—one with a 24-h lifespan, and one with a five-month lifespan—from two Industry-Academia collaboration projects. Our approach was longitudinal capturing virtual team activities from start to end of each project, and involved multiple data collection methods, including observations and interviews. The findings reveal that the virtual team lifespan influences the type of temporal coordination that emerges. In virtual teams with short lifespans, tight coordination with frequent communication can help to reduce the uncertainty characterizing the fuzzy front-end. On the other hand, in virtual teams with longer lifespans, loose coordination allows dispersed members to work simultaneously on different, complementary aspects of the task at hand. These findings extend scholarly understanding around how innovation activities are coordinated in technology-mediated environments, such as virtual teams. Finally, we discuss theoretical and managerial implications. |
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| Keywords: | Virtual teams Fuzzy front-end Innovation Temporal coordination |
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