The Hexagon of Driving Forces for Improving Performance of Virtual Project Teams (VPTs) in Emerging Economies – the case of South Africa

Abstract

A virtual project team (VPT) or a geographically dispersed project team is a group of geographically and/or temporally dispersed individuals brought together via information and telecommunication technologies to work towards a common goal. The global village expands daily and the search for additional revenue continues beyond borders. There is therefore a dire need for an integrated approach to manage projects effectively and proactively across regional barriers and beyond national borders. At present, knowledge of VPTs is not only limited, but also fragmented. Grounded Theory study investigated the main VPT driving forces that have an impact on improving the performance of VPTs. In total 27 participants took part in face-to-face interviews. A total of about 125 journals and books were reviewed as part of Literature research. Literature research was conducted before and after the field study in an effort to uncover the driving forces for improving the performance of VPTs. The findings indicate: Strategic Support system, Strategic Leadership, sound VPT PM, Advocating ICT critical, Government support, and Building a Virtual Community as key drivers for improving the performance of VPTs in Africa. The research provides insights by expanding the domain and gaining more knowledge of VPTs and other technologies in project management field, thereby creating a synergistic whole in a previously unexplored Sub-Saharan context. The findings are useful to project managers and key players on important lessons and an understanding of drivers for improving the performance of their engagement that would lead to improved future project delivery through hexagon of driving forces associated with VPTs in South Africa.