How Global and Virtual Teams are Efficiently Managed by Project Managers : From a Construction Management Perspective

Sammanfattning: The acceleration of globalisation has forced companies to cope with its propulsion in order to become more competitive and internationalised, an internationalisation that creates the importance of knowing how to manage global and virtual teams (GVT). The knowledge in the area today has shown to be vague, generalised and hard to grasp, especially for the unexperienced GVT-project manager. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to study whether the literature regarding how to manage a GVT corresponds with the perceptions in practice and how these findings can contribute to a more efficient project management approach. This study is examined using a qualitative method based upon literature and semi-structured interviews. This foundation is used to provide a deeper understanding of the subject as well as it puts this research questions into the proper context. The interview respondents are from the same organisation, however, from offices located in four different countries. The result shows that there are different perspectives on how GVTs should be managed efficiently, and that different leadership preferences exits. Furthermore, there exists a lot of possibilities, but also challenges that must be coped with in order to reach the team’s full potential. These challenges are connected to the virtual work settings and practical problems as well as the team's heterogeneity and communication structure. It was found that it is important to consider the purpose of the collaboration in order to strategically plan for its initiation and execution.