Purpose

The purpose of this article is to explain the effect of leadership styles on a virtual team efficiency, assuming the existence of mediating variables (media richness) influencing this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected within the framework of an online survey based on a sample of 300 observations (MENA region) with respondents from the IT sector. These results were generated by SPSS and AMOS 23 software and treated using an exploratory factor analysis and modeling by structural equation.

Findings

The results of the research attest that trust and operational cohesion play a mediating role between leadership styles and team performance. They also confirm that leadership styles impact operational cohesion and group trust according to different levels of media richness, thus creating different situations fluctuating according to its level.

Research limitations/implications

From a methodological point of view, the sample choice was not diversified. Only the IT companies are concerned with this study. Therefore, the generalization of obtained results can be questioned. The research results could be refined by trying to highlight trust mediating variable through antecedents evoked by Mayer et al. (1995) or Williams (2001), namely, competence, benevolence or even integrity. Competence and benevolence deserve, on the conceptual plan, to be fully integrated to the definition itself of trust under penalty of see the concept itself of trust impoverish considerably (Mayer et al., 1995).

Practical implications

On a practical level, the optimal efficiency of a virtual team depends on a high level of media richness with a transformational leadership mobilized by the managers that would favor a good operational cohesion of the group. Various techniques could be employed to improve a social dynamic of the group (periodic conference calls, face to face meetings, team building).

Originality/value

This research clarifies how leadership styles influence virtual team efficiency through operational cohesion and trust. Furthermore, this research reaffirms, in addition from previous works, that the communication means to which virtual teams recur influence the degree of operating cohesion and increase that of performance.

中文翻译：

---

领导风格对虚拟团队效率的影响：信任、运营凝聚力和媒体丰富性角色

目的

本文的目的是解释领导风格对虚拟团队效率的影响，假设存在影响这种关系的中介变量（媒体丰富度）。

设计/方法/方法

这些数据是在在线调查的框架内收集的，该调查基于 IT 部门受访者的 300 次观察样本（中东和北非地区）。这些结果由 SPSS 和 AMOS 23 软件生成，并使用探索性因素分析和结构方程建模进行处理。

发现

研究结果证明，信任和运营凝聚力在领导风格和团队绩效之间起着中介作用。他们还证实，领导风格会根据不同的媒体丰富程度影响运营凝聚力和群体信任，从而创造出根据其水平波动的不同情况。

研究限制/影响

从方法论的角度来看，样本选择没有多样化。只有 IT 公司关注这项研究。因此，所得结果的泛化性值得怀疑。可以通过尝试通过 Mayer等人提出的前因来突出信任中介变量来完善研究结果。(1995) 或 Williams (2001)，即能力、仁慈甚至正直。在概念计划上，能力和仁慈应该完全融入信任的定义本身，因为信任的概念本身相当贫乏（Mayer et al. , 1995）。

实际影响

在实践层面，虚拟团队的最佳效率取决于高度丰富的媒体，以及由管理人员动员的变革型领导，这将有利于团队的良好运营凝聚力。可以采用各种技术来改善团队的社交动态（定期电话会议、面对面会议、团队建设）。

原创性/价值

这项研究阐明了领导风格如何通过运营凝聚力和信任影响虚拟团队的效率。此外，除了先前的工作之外，这项研究还重申，虚拟团队反复使用的沟通方式会影响运营凝聚力的程度并提高绩效。