My current problem statement is: It is not known how swift trust influences how temporary virtual team members adapt to disruptions.
The themes coming out of this problem statement are temporary groups, virtual teams, team adaptation, and swift trust. Dr. Cook is challenging how swift trust ties into the need. I think he's right in this regard. I went back to the literature but I can’t tie swift trust specifically to the need.
I have two articles that state there is a need to understand virtual team adaptation with respect to disruptions (events that impede work flows). One of the articles also mentions how there is a need to understand how virtual teams interact within 3D virtual environments. Virtual teams are starting to use 3D environments for collaboration, but the extant literature on virtual teams is lacking in how these 3D environments impact virtual team processes. I also have a reference that states organizations are shifting their use of virtual teams away from long-term teams to short-term temporary teams.
I plan to use video games and video gamers in my study. Video gamers will be proxies for virtual teams (I do have a reference for this). Video gamers also operate in temporary groups (I have a reference for this). My theoretical framework is on the process of team adaptation. The theoretical framework views teams as an ambiguous object and does not draw distinctions about team size, face-to-face teams, or virtual teams. I believe my study may be able to expand this framework by shedding light on virtual team adaptation.
One of the articles from which I derived my gap mentions a need for future studies to look at how the characteristic of virtuality effects adaptation in virtual teams. Here is the direct quote from the article under a section titled future research directions, “A focus on how the unique characteristics of virtuality influence team adaptation is equally important.”
Three articles support the following line of thinking: we know little about virtual team adaptation with respect to disruptions, temporary virtual teams are increasing in use within organizations, we need greater understanding of how 3D environments affect virtual team processes, and we need greater understanding of how virtuality affects team adaptation of virtual teams.
If scholars are calling for more studies on virtual team adaptation, and if adaptation is a complex process, then I should be able to conclude that little is known about the process of team adaptation in virtual teams. Therefore, I need a theoretical framework that looks at the process of team adaptation. Thankfully I’m using a framework that looks at the process of team adaptation.
Further, scholars acknowledge there is little we know about virtual team adaptation and have called for more studies on virtual team adaptation. If little is known about virtual team adaptation in general, then I should be able to conclude that little is known about temporary virtual team adaptation in particular.
So now I'm playing with the idea of two problem statements:
1. It is not known how virtuality affects the process of adaptation of temporary virtual team members. The themes from this are: temporary groups, virtual teams, processes (which ties into the theoretical framework which outlines the process for team adaptation), and virtuality.
2. It is not known how virtuality of 3D environments affects the process of adaptation in temporary virtual teams. The themes from this are: virtuality, 3D environments (which ties into using video games), processes, temporary groups, and virtual teams.
The characteristics of virtuality, processes, and temporary groups become secondary themes which will get explored in the literature review. For example, psychological safety and swift trust become characteristics that will be explored.
Since the second problem statement specifically calls out 3D environments, this ties into my use of video games. I no longer have to make a giant leap into video games and the evidence I use to support my current arguments on using video games becomes easier.
Focusing on the virtuality characteristic of virtual teams lets me explore things such as how team members communicate, collaborate, and use the 3D environment to recognize and respond to disruptions. I mention this because when I was updating my proposal I was thinking of interview questions. I kept coming back to how the 3D environment is used, which is the domain of virtuality, but not necessarily swift trust.
I feel like I'm really close to being done with my problem statement. Everything is there. I just need to make I make the connections.