Virtual Teams and the Rise of e-Entrepreneurship in Europe
- 1 June 2005
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship
- Vol. 23 (3), 279-302
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242605052074
Abstract
In recent years new forms of entrepreneurship have begun to emerge from the synergies between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) developments and changing paradigms of economic transactions. The resulting ‘turbulence’ within the international small business community has facilitated the evolution of innovative organizational forms that are structured dynamically to ensure sustainable competitive advantage in local, national or global markets. ‘Virtual Teams’ consist of groups of geographically distributed individuals (entrepreneurs) who interact through interdependent tasks and are led by common (entrepreneurial) interests and/or goals. This article focuses upon the emergence of Virtual Teams that increasingly form the competitive core of successful e-Entrepreneurship in Europe. Based upon the results of 15 longitudinal case studies from the European Tourism and Hospitality Industry, it identifies and considers the stages and processes specific to Virtual Teams, from formation to the fulfilment or adjournment of specific tasks and projects. The advantages and disadvantages of Virtual Teams of e-Entrepreneurs are additionally documented and discussed.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Innovative use of the Internet in established small firms: the impact of knowledge management and organisational learning in accessing new opportunitiesQualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 2003
- “Blanket” approaches to promoting ICT in small firms: some lessons from the DTI ladder adoption model in the UKInternet Research, 2001
- Facilitating virtual team relationships via Internet and conventional communication channelsInternet Research, 2001
- Bridging Space Over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and EffectivenessOrganization Science, 2000
- Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial OpportunitiesOrganization Science, 2000
- Effective websites for small and medium‐sized enterprisesJournal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 2000
- Business use of the InternetInternet Research, 1997
- “Sticky Information” and the Locus of Problem Solving: Implications for InnovationManagement Science, 1994
- Bridging the Boundary: External Activity and Performance in Organizational TeamsAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1992
- Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and InnovationAdministrative Science Quarterly, 1990