Is it about time? Counteracting the negative effect of virtuality on team performance with team density

The use of virtual and online tools has become commonplace in organizations to remain competitive in a global and dynamic environment. To understand the impact of these tools on team performance, we examine virtuality through a dynamic lens and test a model that links two team characteristics—virtuality and team density—to team performance across performance episodes. Using data from 36 temporary graduate student teams in a classroom setting, random coefficient growth modeling shows that team density attenuates the negative relationship between virtuality and team performance more strongly over time. Our findings highlight the importance of using a dynamic approach to understand how virtuality and team density affect team performance over time. We discuss the theoretical implications of conceptualizing virtuality from a time-sensitive perspective.