THE INFORMATION FLOW IN VIRTUAL TEAMS

As new interactive and collaborative features of the Internet emerge, information is now one of the organization?s most valuable assets. As an organization, being able to collect and use the information to one?s advantage depends on the access to the right type of technology and the most suitable human resources whose talent is now worldwide sought. For instance, given the amount of information that the organization receives and has to manage, there is no wonder that the CIOs have become more prominent in the executive suite. For virtual organizations, improved technology and the right human resources support translate into an increase in productivity. Google?s chief economist Hal Varian states that "data are widely available; what is scarce is the ability to extract wisdom from them". Hence, the process of communication is infinitely more complex in virtual teams and virtual organizations. This paper includes current concerns related to the importance of communication in virtual organizations and summarizes the characteristics of the groupware designed to sustain it.