RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study adopts a case study methodology to examine the entire collaboration process of three virtual teams. In the field of Information Systems (IS) research, the case study is one of the fre­quently adopted research methods, and its felicity is widely acknowledged (Orlikowski, 1993). The case study method is believed to provide rich and insightful data which is helpful to understand otherwise complex issues (Yin, 1994). We adopt the case study methodology for this study based on two reasons. First, the case study approach is particularly helpful to analyze the group processes and outcomes in the virtual team. Second, we aim to study contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context without controls over behavioral events to generate theories from practice.