ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by examining technology not as a material artefact with a direct impact on organisational knowledge communication, but as a socio-technical object. This perspective entails a complex co-constitution of technology and human interaction. Therefore, it can be difficult to predict how technology mediates teamwork in a semi-dispersed work environment. With the theoretical perspective on technology explicated, the section then reviews a systematically selected corpus of work-place case studies of dispersed teams. This review demonstrates the challenges of communicating knowledge and building relations and identification in virtual teams. The review of organisational case studies on semi-dispersed teams (aka virtual teams) thereby supports the socio-technical theories presented. The chapter argues for shifting the perspective, both in research and in practice, towards a higher degree of employee autonomy in designing virtual teams. In some cases, this approach has led to high-performing dispersed teams, termed ‘Knowledge Teams’ to emphasise their effectiveness in communicating knowledge in the team. An interview participant, Linda, who has built a virtual team without the help of any managers, is used as a case study in the chapter.
