I was alerted to this one while reading a research paper which suggested that virtual meetings could be more effective in some ways than face to face ones. The paper was particularly talking about how virtual meeting settings could eliminate the ego battles that can be a part of face to face meetings. It's interesting to speculate how it may also be another aspect of technology changing power bases. In a virtual meeting other skills can replace traditional ones. For example personal charisma may not translate well.
Virtual meetings can lead to better informed decision making.
They make it easier to introduce electronic evidence on an ad hoc basis. I also really liked the idea of electronically minuting a meeting in a visible way that Bernard presented as part of technography. Coming up with an agreed outcome as you go along. Whether it leads to better decision making may depend on the tools and techniques applied. Some traditional methods can be translated into virtual meetings along with new ones.