Adaptation of technology into a virtual collaborative environment

The introduction of new web-based technology, acquired for a virtual development team, presents opportunities to investigate the performance of collaborative arrangements associated with the team. This research examined how these collaborative arrangements that are supported by two institutional partners have influenced a virtual environment.

The investigation is based on an IT adaptation structurational model that provided the framework for the research. The research explored collaborative issues related to the constructs that underpinned the adaptation model, namely, institutional properties, human agents and technology, and included an investigation of interactive factors that exist between the constructs.

A major finding of the study showed that the introduction of new technology into the virtual team was in itself not a problem. However, the research revealed the importance and impact that different organisational cultures can have on the successful operation of a virtual collaborative team, and that collaboration like any functional organisational component needs to be strategically managed if it is to succeed.

A trans-disciplinary approach was used that combines literature from the fields of information technology, organisational behaviour and human computer interaction.

This research contributes to our knowledge of how virtual teams collaborate, and the impact of organisational cultures on collaborative arrangements. The research has been limited to a single case, and was undertaken to provide possible solutions to communication problems experienced by the development team.