Selected Success Factors of Virtual Teams: Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research

The aim of this paper is to extend the knowledge about virtual teams and above all to stress the differences between face-to-face and virtual teams as well as to define its chosen success factors. This paper is based on an extended literature review of virtual teams. The author describes virtual teams, reasons for their implementation and four factors that are prerequisites for team success.

The first finding is that the successful introduction of a virtual team and its management requires knowledge about the special characteristics of this team and the effective handling of challenges. Second, the literature review of virtual teams reveals a lack of research on the differences in motivation between face-to-face and virtual teams. The originality of the article is ensured by selection of the most important factors which, according to the literature review, lead to the success of virtual teams and by a description of areas that need to be explored in the future.