Knowledge management

Computer science

Sociology

Engineering

Virtual work

Mechanical engineering

Work (physics)

Structural engineering

Conceptual framework

Telecommuting

Data science

Finite element method

Bridging (networking)

Computer network

Social science

Academy of Management Annals

Virtual work is the new normal, with employees working from dispersed locations and interacting using computer-mediated communication. Despite the growth in virtual work research, it has tended to occur in siloes focused on different types of virtual work (e.g., virtual teams and telecommuting) that are grounded in different research traditions. This limits opportunities to leverage research across these different domains. We use a co-citation analysis to examine the degree of segmentation in the field of virtual work into disparate research clusters. We find the emergence of three major research clusters: telecommuting, virtual teams, and computer-mediated work (CMW). Motivated by this finding, we carry out a comparative review of the literature in each cluster with the objective of seeking ways to exploit opportunities that cut across them. Based on our review, we first develop a conceptual model using the dispersion and technology dependence dimensions of virtuality to compare different approaches to study...

Virtual Work: Bridging Research Clusters