Structural Stability and Virtual Team Performance

This study examines how relational instability and stability-seeking behaviors of unstable virtual teams affects team performance. We apply Structural Stability Theory (Heider, 1946) to understand virtual team (VT) performance. Structural stability theory provides for quantification of relational stability within a VT by measuring the mathematical properties of links between nodes in a team. Lack of stability is a source of unresolved tension. Structural Stability Theory (SST) states that unstable relationships are motivated to seek stability. Stability can be positive or negative, where certain members of a group are disliked by others. However, structural stability suggests the absence of turbulence within the relational dynamics of the group; that relationships are settled - good or bad. We propose that the degree of structural stability within a group measures unresolved relational tension within the group and may impact VT performance.