Virtual team learning
Subtitle: reflecting and acting, alone or with others
By: Deborah L. Soule, Lynda M. Applegate
Contributors: Applegate, Lynda M.; Harvard Business School
Series: Working paper / Harvard Business School -- 09-084; Working paper (Harvard Business School) -- 09-084
Publisher: Harvard Business School
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 39
Description: This paper examines virtual team learning in new product development situations. New product development activities manifest novelty, uncertainty and complexity, presenting an extreme need for learning in the course of the work. We present data from an exploratory study of learning processes in globally dispersed new product development teams. These qualitative data are used to investigate components of team learning previously highlighted in the team learning literature-namely reflection-oriented and action-oriented behaviors-and to examine the boundaries of these learning behaviors. We find that effective virtual teams, like co-located teams, engage in both reflective and action-oriented learning behaviors. However, the virtual context highlights distinct participation strategies in teams' learning patterns, which aim to leverage deep, specialist knowledge, on one hand, or seek to integrate diverse knowledge, on the other hand.
Notes: "January 2009"--Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references.