American Accounting Association 2006 Midwest Region Meeting March 30 – April 1 Chicago, Illinois

Friday, March 31, 4:00 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.
Concurrent session 4A - Belief Revision and Evidence (Accounting, Behavior and Organizations)

Title: The Effect Of Virtual Collaboration Technology On The Belief Revision Of Teams

Jennifer L. Blaskovich Saint Louis University

ABSTRACT: In this study, I investigate the effect of virtual meeting technology on team decision-making. Past research has shown that face-to-face teamwork eliminates recency, a pervasive judgment bias in which the order of information unduly influences the final decision. My primary research hypothesis predicts that unlike face-to-face teams, virtual teams are unable to overcome order effects, resulting in decisions biased by recency. Secondarily, I hypothesize that virtual teaming reduces individual effort, a factor proposed as an explanation for recency in virtual team decisions. The hypotheses are tested in a laboratory experiment that asks participants to work in teams to make a business decision. Results indicate that the decisions of face-to-face teams do not reflect order effects, while the decisions of virtual teams are strongly biased by recency. This implies that the benefits of teamwork cannot be expected to transfer to a virtual setting. Results on the secondary hypotheses were mixed. When duration and intensity are used to proxy for effort, no difference is noted between teams. However, face-to-face team members perceived their effort to be significantly greater than virtual team members. Potential explanations for the conflicting findings are discussed.

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