Globally distributed teams (GDT) are an increasingly common organizational solution to carry out knowledge intensive tasks as they enable the development of products and services ‘around the clock’ (Carmel, 2006) in a ‘24 hours knowledge factory’ environment (Gupta et al., 2009). Most GDTs are engaged in the development of modular products or services: modularity enables the development and production of different modules to be assigned to different subgroups located across the globe (e.g. US, Ireland, and India) as product design assembly is built in the modular architecture.While modularity is always treated as a given property of products and services, in this paper we investigate (a) whether and how members of GDTs may develop different perceptions of modularity; (b) the interplay of such perceptions with individuals’ interpretations of their work in the team; and (c) the consequences of these different perceptions. In order to investigate these issues we conducted a qualitative research of a GDT in charge of developing a new software product. Our findings suggest that team members develop different perceptions of modularity, that, in turn, are related to different perceptions of interactions, team configuration, and team identity. Although these different interpretations may increase difficulty in sharing and coordinating knowledge, they positively reinforce individuals’ professional identity.The paper is structured as follows: we review literature on modularity in GDTs to introduce the construct of perceived modularity and we introduce our research question. After describing our empirical context, we present the adopted research methods and illustrate and discuss our results. We conclude with implications and directions for future research.

Bertolotti, Fabiola, Elisa, Mattarelli, Prencipe, A. e Gupta, A.. "Multiple perceptions of modularity and multitasking in globally distributed teams: toward a theory of multi-modularity" Working paper, Dipartimento di Scienze e Metodi dell'Ingegneria - Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, 2010.

Multiple perceptions of modularity and multitasking in globally distributed teams: toward a theory of multi-modularity

BERTOLOTTI, Fabiola;MATTARELLI, Elisa;
2010

Abstract

Globally distributed teams (GDT) are an increasingly common organizational solution to carry out knowledge intensive tasks as they enable the development of products and services ‘around the clock’ (Carmel, 2006) in a ‘24 hours knowledge factory’ environment (Gupta et al., 2009). Most GDTs are engaged in the development of modular products or services: modularity enables the development and production of different modules to be assigned to different subgroups located across the globe (e.g. US, Ireland, and India) as product design assembly is built in the modular architecture.While modularity is always treated as a given property of products and services, in this paper we investigate (a) whether and how members of GDTs may develop different perceptions of modularity; (b) the interplay of such perceptions with individuals’ interpretations of their work in the team; and (c) the consequences of these different perceptions. In order to investigate these issues we conducted a qualitative research of a GDT in charge of developing a new software product. Our findings suggest that team members develop different perceptions of modularity, that, in turn, are related to different perceptions of interactions, team configuration, and team identity. Although these different interpretations may increase difficulty in sharing and coordinating knowledge, they positively reinforce individuals’ professional identity.The paper is structured as follows: we review literature on modularity in GDTs to introduce the construct of perceived modularity and we introduce our research question. After describing our empirical context, we present the adopted research methods and illustrate and discuss our results. We conclude with implications and directions for future research.
2010
Luglio
Bertolotti, Fabiola; Mattarelli, Elisa; A., Prencipe; A., Gupta
Bertolotti, Fabiola, Elisa, Mattarelli, Prencipe, A. e Gupta, A.. "Multiple perceptions of modularity and multitasking in globally distributed teams: toward a theory of multi-modularity" Working paper, Dipartimento di Scienze e Metodi dell'Ingegneria - Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, 2010.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

Licenza Creative Commons
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/747241
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact