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Relational capital in virtual teams: the role played by trust

Ana Zornoza

Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain, Ana.Zornoza{at}uv.es

Virginia Orengo

Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain, Virginia.Orengo{at}uv.es

Vicente Peñarroja

Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010 Valencia, Spain, Vicente.Penarroja{at}uv.es

The study of social capital has emerged as a key construct in work and organizational contexts. Trust is its relational dimension and it is relevant for teams working in virtual environments. The purpose of our study is to determine whether the relationship between virtuality level (based on the characteristics of the technology used by each group) and three team-effectiveness criteria (group performance, group process satisfaction and group cohesion) is moderated by group trust climate or relational capital (i.e. trust perceptions shared by team members). A laboratory experiment was carried out with groups randomly assigned to two virtuality levels (videoconference and computer-mediated communication) and a control condition (face-to-face communication). Sixty-six 4-member teams made up the sample. Results indicated that group trust climate moderates the relationship between the virtuality level and group process satisfaction and group cohesion when the virtuality level is high. These results provide further evidence that relational capital plays an important role in virtual teams' effectiveness.

Key Words: Group effectiveness • Trust climate • Virtuality level

Social Science Information, Vol. 48, No. 2, 257-281 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0539018409102414
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