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Chapter 5
Forming Trust in Virtual
Writing Teams:
Perspectives and Applications
Sean D. Williams
Clemson University, USA
ABSTRACT
This chapter explores collaborative writing in virtual teams, and, particularly, trust formation in virtual
writing teams, to help those who create or work in virtual writing teams to understand the importance of
trust. In order to build the case for trust as the key component in teams, the chapter presents important
background on teams as a general concept. In particular, it considers the constituents of quality teams,
which include small team size, diverse team membership, interdependent relationships, shared team vi-
sion, articulated processes, and performance orientation. The chapter then elaborates on the role of trust
in teams, presenting it as the key feature for any type of team environment. Based on this background,
the chapter then differentiates the general concept of teams from virtual teams in particular, arguing
that virtual teams must address specifc considerations in order to build trust. Such considerations
include the composition of the team, where team members possess a propensity to trust; the proper use
of technology in the virtual team, so that the medium matches the communicative need; and social pres-
ence, or the ways that virtual teams can build trust by using communication behaviors to demonstrate
to others that they share understanding. The chapter combines the general team considerations with
the virtual team considerations into a rubric for building strong virtual teams based upon four major
categories: team traits, team actions, individual traits, and environment traits. The chapter concludes
with suggestions for future study.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-994-6.ch005