The Situated Nature of Virtual Teamwork: Understanding the Constitutive Role of

The time-space configurations of place and space are used to ground an analysis and discussion of the constitutive role of place, or virtual team members' respective local contexts, in the conduct of virtual teamwork. In contrast to the majority of current virtual teams research, which emphasizes the "spatial," or virtual aspect of virtual teamwork, this study uses an extended example, the establishment of a computer-conferencing infrastructure, to show the constitutive role played by local institutionalized rhythms, relationships, rules, politics, and resources in the enactment of virtual team tasks. Implications for studying, designing, and managing virtual teams are discussed.