The actual ongoing process of coordinating cooperation in globally distributed teams

This paper aims to investigate how and why auto-coordination occurs in the creative process of globally distributed teams as they develop new products. Using a qualitative approach, two case studies have been developed and compared. Our empirical evidence shows that when interactions among team members expand over time and space, information and communication technologies may be relevant for the occurrence of auto-coordination based on a continuous flow of information, and on mutual adjustment among globally dispersed team members during the joint accomplishment of the task. The relevance of information technologies depends on the meaningful human actions and decisions concerning the particular artefact that should be adopted and used to communicate. In contrast to the existing literature, this study also highlights that information and communication technologies are means to transfer information concerning the task to be accomplished.