Abstract:
Virtual teams andtheir leaders are keyplayers in global organizations. Using teams ojworkers dispersed temporally and geographically has changed the way people work in groups and redefined the nature oj teamwork. Emergent leadership issues in computer-mediatedcommunication are vital today because oj the increasingprevalence ojthe virtual organization, theflattening ojorganizational structures, and the corresponding interest in managingvirtualgroups andteams. This chapter examines the communication behaviors ojparticipants in two different case studies to determine if number, length, and content oj messages are suffiCient criteria to identifY emergent leaders in asynchronous andsynchronous environments. The methodology used can be embedded in collaborative virtual environments as a technology jor identifYing potential leaders in organizational and educational environments.
