Key Performance Factors in Virtual Team Development: A Systematic Literature Review

The growth of virtual teams as an innovative solution to facilitate long-distance communication in an organizational context has become a common practice in contemporary workplaces, driven by the development of information communication technologies (ICTs) and hybrid working styles. Hence, this study aims to investigate the key performance factors which strongly influence virtual team performance in recent practices. The research also features an exploration of practical gap in previous studies, to effectively synthesize all key performance drivers in virtual teams. In this study, a quantitative systematic literature review is conducted through the retrieval of 364 articles from Scopus database search. These articles are reviewed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, with the assistance of Rayyan.ai, which leads to the inclusion of 88 articles contributing to the research. The findings emphasize on each sub-categories found in the factors of trust, leadership, knowledge sharing, communication, social capital, and technology acceptance, influencing virtual team performance. Based on the review, trust and social capital remain the most discussed variables in previous research articles. The limitations of this study include the retrieval of articles from only selected publishers and potential bias in presenting the significance of each key performance factor. This study offers practical insights for organizations and future scholars in identifying the critical elements that drive virtual team performance.