Understanding the mediating role of social media in virtual team conflicts

Abstract

Communication technology is recognized as an important component of a virtual team (VT). Communication technologies other than social media have been linked to VT conflicts by prior research. This research in progress explores using social media to see if any improvements can be made to conflicts in VTs. The researchers emphasize on the “feature richness” of social media which is understood as affordances of social media and it distinguishes social media from other commonly used communication technologies in a VT environment. The researchers theorize that “feature richness” rather than “media richness” of the communication technology can be more beneficial for a virtual team since it is hoped to simultaneously work towards reducing VT conflicts. The researchers propose a conceptual research model that contributes to understanding the mediating role that social media can play in virtual team conflicts.