Virtual R&D Teams

A virtual team (also known as a geographically dispersed team or GDT) is a group of individuals who work across time, space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. Powell, Piccoli and Ives define virtual teams in their literature review article "as groups of geographically, organizationally and/or time dispersed workers brought together by information and telecommunication technologies to accomplish one or more organizational tasks"[1]. Ale Ebrahim, Ahmed, & Taha, in their recent literature review article (2009), added two new key issue in the virtual teams definition “a virtual team: small temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/or time dispersed knowledge workers who coordinate their work, predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in order to accomplish one or more organization tasks” [2]. Members of virtual teams communicate electronically and may never meet face-to-face. Virtual teams are made possible by a proliferation of fiber optic technology that has significantly increased the scope of off-site communication.[3] Virtual teams allow companies to procure the best talent without geographical restrictions.[3] According to Hambley, O’Neil, & Kline (2007), "virtual teams require new ways of working across boundaries through systems, processes, technology, and people,[4] which requires effective leadership...despite the widespread increase in virtual teamwork, there has been relatively little focus on the role of virtual team leaders."

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Their continued growth is a major subject for the economy and employment of any country. Towards that end, virtual research and development (R&D) could be a viable option to sustain and ease the operations of SMEs. However, literature shows there has not been a great deal of research into the diverse characteristic of virtual R&D teams in SMEs. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R&D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the literature review is to provide an outline on the structure and dynamics of R&D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the rationale and relevance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R&D team for SMEs and new product development (NPD) has been examined. It concludes with identifying the gaps and feebleness in the existing literature's and calls for future research in this area. It is argued to form of virtual R&D team deserves consideration at top level management for venturing into the new product development within SMEs. Key words: Virtual teams, small and medium enterprises, new product development, R&D.

Virtual Team Management: Managing Virtual Team Relationships Course Code NGE42302

Nader Ale Ebrahim said Your comment is awaiting moderation. November 2nd, 2011 at 1:16 pm   0   0   Thank you for sharing virtual team tools list. I do believe “Virtual teams will become as important as Web to companies” in near future. We have done a survey study and published a series of papers on “Virtual teams” and “ virtual R&D teams” which is available on http://ssrn.com/author=1379350 . All in all, we define a new definition for “virtual team” (virtual team “is small temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/ or time dispersed knowledge workers who coordinate their work predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in order to accomplish one or more organization tasks”[1]) and found the advantages of employing virtual teams is far from conventional teams. Nader Ale Ebrahim http://aleebrahim.com/Nader%20Ale%20Ebrahim.aspx [1]- Ale Ebrahim, N.; Ahmed, S.; Taha, Z. (December 2009). “Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review”. Scientific Research and Essay 4 (13): 1575–1590. Retrieved January 18, 2011.

Wednesday, November 2nd 2011 at 12:20 pm |  Thank you for sharing virtual teams starting Tips. I do believe “Virtual teams will become as important as Web to companies” in near future. We have done a survey study and published a series of papers on “Virtual teams” and “ virtual R&D teams” which is available on http://ssrn.com/author=1379350 . All in all, we define a new definition for “virtual team” (virtual team “is small temporary groups of geographically, organizationally and/ or time dispersed knowledge workers who coordinate their work predominantly with electronic information and communication technologies in order to accomplish one or more organization tasks”[1]) and found the advantages of employing virtual teams is far from conventional teams. Nader Ale Ebrahim http://aleebrahim.com/Nader%20Ale%20Ebrahim.aspx [1]- Ale Ebrahim, N.; Ahmed, S.; Taha, Z. (December 2009). “Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review”. Scientific Research and Essay 4 (13): 1575–1590. Retrieved January 18, 2011.

Virtual teams: understanding the impact of fear

Ebrahim, N.A.; Ahmen, S.; Taha, Z.: Virtual Teams: A Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (2009), Nr. 3, S. 2653-2669.

lobal verteilte Arbeitsprozesse lassen sich durch folgende Attribute beschreiben und klassifizieren (vgl. auch Ebrahim et al, 2009, Shapiro et al, 2005)

Ebrahim, N.A.; Ahmen, S.; Taha, Z.: Virtual Teams: A Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (2009), Nr. 3, S. 2653-2669.

Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., & Taha, Z. (2009). Virtual Teams: a Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 3(3), 2653-2669. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., & Taha, Z. (2009). Virtual Teams: a Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 3(3), 2653-2669. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Ebrahim, N, Shamsuddin, A, & Taha, Z. (2009). Virtual teams: a literature review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 3(3), 2653-2669.

The effectiveness of virtual R&D teams in SMEs: experiences of Malaysian SMEs Ale Ebrahim, N.; Abdul Rashid, S.H.; Ahmed, S.; Taha, Z. (2011) The effectiveness of virtual R&D teams in SMEs: experiences of Malaysian SMEs. Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, 10 (2). pp. 109-114. ISSN 1598-7248 Preview PDF (The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing.) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication. Download (85Kb) | Preview Official URL: http://kiie.org/iems/contents/vol10no2/10-2-03.pdf Abstract The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have high potential for the growth of SMEs. Due to the fast-growing complexity of new products coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs’ virtual R&D teams. Online questionnaires were emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires were received, representing a 20.8 percent return rate. In order to avoid biases which may result from pre-suggested answers, a series of open-ended questions were retrieved from the experts. This study was focused on analyzing an open-ended question, whereby four main themes were extracted from the experts’ recommendations regarding the effectiveness of virtual teams for the growth and performance of SMEs. The findings of this study would be useful to product design managers of SMEs in order to realize the key advantages and significance of virtual R&D teams during the new product development (NPD) process. This in turn, leads to increased effectiveness in new product development's procedure. Item Type: Article

Managing Communication in New Product Development Process: Virtual R&D Teams and Information Technology United Kingdom - Malaysia - Ireland Engineering Science Conference, pp. 495-502, 2011 Nader Ale Ebrahim , Shamsuddin Ahmed , Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid and Zahari Taha University of Malaya

SMEs; Virtual R&D Teams and NPD: A Literature Review By Nader Ale Ebrahim View this Author's Spotlight Paperback, 27 pages  (1 Rating) Preview Price:$9.90 Ships in 3–5 business days Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Their continued growth is a major subject for the economy and employment of any country. Please Cite: Ale Ebrahim, N., Ahmed, S., & Taha, Z. (2010). SMEs; Virtual R&D teams and new product development: A literature review [Review]. International Journal of the Physical Sciences, 5(7), 916–930.

5   Modified stage-gate: A conceptual model of virtual product development process Modified stage-gate: A conceptual model of virtual product development process Nader Ale Ebrahim Shamsuddin Ahmed Zahari Taha    2009 In today’s dynamic marketplace, manufacturing companies are under strong pressure to introduce new products for long-term survival with their competitors. Nevertheless, every company cannot cope up progressively or immediately with the market requirements due to knowledge dynamics being experienced in the competitive milieu. Increased competition and reduced product life cycles put force upon companies to develop new products faster. In response to these pressing needs, there should be some new