Trust leveling: Building trust through play in virtual teams

Christopher Charles, Purdue University

Abstract

Virtual teams allow individuals to cooperate with others across both space and time. However, in the absence of proximal presence, virtual teams encounter difficulty developing trust outside of specific circumstances. Its acquisition is contingent on individuals' perceptions of others' ability, benevolence, and integrity, and one's own tendency to engage in trusting behavior. In virtual settings, it is difficult to assess these qualities in others. Without trust, teams have difficulty engaging in tasks that do not have simple and finite solutions. When playing in virtual contexts where roles are in flux, individuals can experiment with the identity of others as well as their own. This experimentation may influence how individuals assess others' ability, benevolence, and integrity, and the level of trust between teammates. Playing with perceptions of trust and its antecedents thereby determines whom individuals trust and to what degree. By placing a context for identity experimentation in parallel to a context for work, perceptions of trust and its antecedents can be ported from one domain to the other. To test this, eight virtual teams worked to complete three tasks in a quasi-experimental design. These teams were divided into two conditions: a chat-based work environment and a game-based work environment with dynamic roles. Analyses of survey data over three time intervals indicate that playing with dynamic roles enhances perceptions of trust, benevolence, and integrity among members of a virtual team. Qualitative analyses of chat transcripts indicate that role shifting, a non-restrictive swift trust framework, enjoyment, and other themes were integral to the development of trust in these teams. These findings suggest that a key factor in trust development in virtual teams is to provide them with a space distinct from the work environment in which members can experiment with a variety of roles in the presence of their teammates. Further, play featuring dynamic roles can foster trust development in virtual contexts, allowing individuals with limited proximal presence to engage in trusting behavior, consequently enhancing the ability to collaborate on complex tasks. These findings are discussed within the context of literature on virtual organizations, trust development, and cultural game studies.

Degree

M.A.

Advisors

Kisselburgh, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Communication

COinS