Chapter 15. Virtual teams and team cognition

This chapter presents a review of research examining team cognitive processes and provides practical recommendations in the context of virtual collaboration. To best support virtual team processes, it is important to consider team cognition because it is the foundation of attitudes and behaviors in teams. Towards this end, we unite the cognitive and organizational sciences via integration of theoretical concepts to offer insights on virtual team cognition, conceptualized as a form of human-machine hybrid. First, we provide a definition of team cognition encompassing knowledge, functions, and process as they occur in teams. We then link theory from the organizational sciences about teamwork and taskwork to describe how this increases our understanding of technology connecting virtual teams. Finally, we offer guidelines and recommendations for how virtual team cognition can be augmented.