Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Lilburn Hoehn

Abstract

Over the last 2 decades of advances in technology, organizations have used virtual teams (VTs) as one way to expand globally. Strong leadership and communication skills with followers are essential qualities for successful VTs. It is important to conduct research related to charismatic leadership and communication satisfaction of team members as many organizations now use VTs. The purpose of the survey study was to examine the relationship of perceived charismatic leadership qualities in VT leaders and communication satisfaction in VT members. The research questions examined the association between charismatic leadership qualities and the subdimension of communication satisfaction. Charismatic leadership was the theoretical framework for the study, which posits that leadership and communication are contributing factors to successful VTs. Data were collected from property managers of a major student housing management company (n = 111) using convenience sampling. The Conger-Kanungo Charismatic Leadership Questionnaire and Communication Satisfaction Survey were e-mailed to the property managers through Survey Monkey. Multiple regression analysis showed that a number of charismatic leadership qualities were statistically associated with communication satisfaction. Inspiring strategic and organizational goals explained the most variance in conflict resolution (p < 0.001). The results may contribute to the body of knowledge on VTs, as the results suggest that a leadership-focused approach can transform VTs into highly communicative teams. Implications for positive social change are that management awareness of charismatic leadership qualities can have a positive effect on the enhancement of communication satisfaction and employee productivity.

Download

Share

 
COinS