Emotions in Global Virtual Team Processes

Publications on the role of emotions in intercultural management have steadily increased over the last decades. However, many knowledge gaps persist, and the role of emotions and emotional labor in global virtual teamwork processes remains poorly understood. A lexical analysis of over 400 academic papers on the topic concludes on five research avenues. This research project aims at answering the call for more interdisciplinary, mixed method, and experimental research. We combine two novel methodologies. One the one hand, we use a simulation and experimental methodology based on digital serious games that we have been developing in a larger academic project. The participants are confronted with an interactive storyline that simulates the interactions within an international project team. The scenario is based on qualitative research and includes "critical incidents". Conflict situations offer the ground for emotional reactions. Additionally, we use Face Reader©, an automated system for facial expression analysis, to measure the participants' emotions when confronted with the different conflict situations. Thanks to this novel, experimental methodology, we intend to offer new contributions on the influence of emotions on teamwork and conflict management behaviors, and the link between cultural differences and emotions in intercultural teamwork.