To What Extent Do Affective Events Influence the Performance of Global Virtual Teams?

Abstract

The effect of emotions on team performance is traditionally related to personal interactions. This study aims to advance the theory in global virtual teams (GVTs) by exploring how emotions evolve over time and impact team performance. This study evaluates GVTs working on a business through large data sets capturing interactions and performance steps. We investigate the impact of affective events on the performance of GVTs. The data was collected, and the initial draft of the study was performed before the COVID-19 pandemic ensued. The findings demonstrate that the level of emotions varies over time according to work-related stimuli, such as workload and deadlines, while the high level of emotion displayed—both positive and negative—also influences GVTs and is correlated with teams’ performance.