Challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing in project management virtual teams: a review

Abstract

Technological advancements, globalization, and the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed digital communication into a central tenet of many project management virtual teams (VTs). However, successful VTs are dependent on communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing among team members. Through a systematic literature review, this study investigates the challenges and critical success factors of digital communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing in project management VTs. As a result, eight key common themes were identified - trust, cultural diversity, collaboration tools and technology, communication and knowledge hoarding, leadership, psychological safety, communication guidelines and training, and resource planning. Furthermore, given the geographically dispersed nature of VTs, they face additional challenges than teams that interact face-to-face (in-person). Therefore, mitigating the challenges by focusing on the identified themes could lead to project success.

Keywords

• virtual project teams
• digital communication
• collaboration
• knowledge sharing
• systematic review