Does Mutual Knowledge Affect Virtual Team Performance? Theoretical Analysis and Anecdotal Evidence

Introduction Decision makers today are faced with exceedingly complex problems that generally require the collaborative efforts of individuals from many different areas of expertise. The challenges of teamwork and collaboration are further exacerbated by the increasingly dispersed nature of teams today, particularly in terms of geography, time, and culture. One approach to facilitating collaboration is the use of computermediated communication (CMC) technologies to support virtual teams. Virtual teams have been described as teams whose members are separated by time and space and who have been brought together to accomplish a goal by conducting communication predominately through technology (Lipnack and Stamps 1997, 7). Further, virtual team members interact through independent tasks guided by a common purpose. The ability to effectively communicate and then share knowledge can become a daunting task in virtual settings because of the complex nature of both the virtual context and the supporting technology. Developing a shared understanding is critical for ensuring that any semantic differences caused by the inherent characteristics of virtuality are minimized. Furthermore, given the challenges of managing a virtual project, it becomes even more important that virtual team communications are noise-free or free of distraction. In view of this, some authors have argued that common knowledge or mutual knowledge is an important factor in engendering effective virtual team interactions and ultimately team performance (Tan et al. 2000; Warkentin, Sayeed, and Hightower 1997). However, mutual knowledge researchers have debated the efficacy of mutual knowledge for the last three decades, particularly with regard to whether some form of mutual knowledge is necessary for effective communication (Brown 1995). Based on an analysis of the mutual knowledge and virtual team literature, we are interested in addressing the following question: Can (Does) mutual knowledge among virtual team members improve the performance of the team? Specifically in this paper, we explore this question by conducting a theoretical analysis, developing initial propositions with evidentiary support in the form of anecdotal evidence and case study data. The paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we discuss and analyze relevant literature relating to the effectiveness of mutual knowledge and its potential to impact virtual team performance. Subsequently, the next section proposes a conceptual model of how mutual knowledge might impact virtual team performance. This is followed by the development of a set of propositions based on the model and we analyze these propositions using a priori literature, anecdotal evidence, and qualitative case study data. The paper concludes with a summary and brief discussion of future research implications. Abstract This paper describes the concept of mutual knowledge and its potential impact on virtual team performance. Based on an analysis of extant literature, we argue that there is a gap in our understanding of what is known about mutual knowledge as it impacts team dynamics and virtual team performance. Supporting literature, anecdotes, and case studies are used to discuss the importance of mutual knowledge for virtual team performance and the research issues that need to be addressed in the future.