Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Alexa Dare

Second Advisor

Dr. Michael Poutiantine

Abstract

This dual method (quantitative and qualitative) study sought to discover the perceptions of leadership in virtual work teams. The ability to communicate among team members, in this environment, becomes increasingly difficult. Specifically, this study analyzed emergent leadership characteristics, as identified by participants, in a virtual work environment. The philosophical framework for this study is based on Boster’s (2006) concept “communication results in social influence.” This study is grounded in the theoretical work of Walther’s (1992) Social Information Processing CMC model, and Graen and Uhl-Bien’s (1995) relationship-based LMX model. The data obtained for this study was achieved through a survey of closed and opened-ended questions and subsequent open-ended interview questions. The results of this study indicate the existence of emergent leadership in virtual work teams when there is a lack of formal leadership assignment. Furthermore, the results indicate that a combination of leadership characteristics allow team members to identify one individual as an emergent leader. These findings further the study of communication because it provides a basis for overcoming CMC complexities through the display of specific leadership characteristics.

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