Factors Influencing the Adoption of Virtual Communication in Organizations: A Project Management Perspective

This study examines four possible determinants—management, employee, project, and technological factors—of virtual communication (VC) adoption in an organization. We reviewed all the influential elements from previous VC literature on telework, telecommuting, and virtual teams to identify which factor has the most significant influence on VC adoption. We surveyed professionals from various organizations, capacities, and locations for their VC experience and found that management factors such as management support, trust building, and organizational leadership are the most significant influencing factors for adopting VC. Furthermore, all four previously mentioned factors play an important role in VC adoption. This study contributes to project management literature by providing consistent evidence that management-related factors are the most important determinant among the four factors. Moreover, factors such as project tasks, location, customer relations, external influences, and risk management are also significantly and positively associated with the adoption of VC in an organization.