Using genre analysis for conceptualising virtual team collaborations with complex role and work context connections: what implementation problems can occur?

Modern technology enables virtual team collaboration, offering new possibilities, particularly for geographically distributed teams. Traditionally, organisations favoured presence-based collaboration, but the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a widespread reconsideration, highlighting the feasibility and advantages of virtual teamwork. In the post-pandemic era, the focus has shifted from whether to engage in virtual team collaboration to how to do so effectively and efficiently. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that virtual team collaborations with complex role and work context connections can still encounter fundamental problems. Thus, it is crucial to promote effective and efficient collaboration within virtual teams. This study employs a genre analysis proactively to conceptualise complex virtual team collaboration within a fully virtualised management education seminar addressing real-world IT consulting problems. Through a qualitative multiple-case study approach, the effectiveness and efficiency of this approach are evaluated. This study demonstrates the feasibility through handling, individual satisfaction, and group performance. It also sheds light on the potential of proactive use of genre analysis. The findings underscore the importance of using genre analysis in a proactive way and provide theoretical insights.