Leadership, Trust, and Participation in Virtual

Abstract

As business continues to be conducted internationally, managers are expected to work in multinational environments (Early & Peterson, 2004). Technology and travel costs have caused organizations to rely more heavily on virtual teams (dePillis & Furumo, 2007). Virtual teams have been used extensively for IT projects and particularly software development. In this study, three leadership conditions were analyzed. Preliminary results show that virtual teams led by Supportive leaders had higher levels of participation and trust among members than teams led by Commanding leaders. These findings are important for managers and faculty who prepare students for the work world.