What Drives Virtual Team Collaboration in the IT Industry? Role of Personality Traits

Abstract

Purpose –This study investigates how the big five personality traits conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, and neuroticism predict the effectiveness of virtual collaboration in digital workplaces and applies trait activation theory to explain how personality virtual situational cues influence behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach –The study's design was cross-sectional, and 340 knowledge workers in the Indian IT sector who worked remotely or were hybrid were surveyed. PLS-SEM was used to analyse the data after structural equation modelling.

Findings –The most favourable predictors of virtual collaboration are extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to new experiences, highlighting proactive communication and socioemotional flexibility. While neuroticism has a negative correlation, conscientiousness is still advantageous but less so than in co-located teams. A significant amount of the variance in virtual collaboration may be explained by the model.

Originality/value –This study provides an effective, individual-oriented model that explains why socio-emotional dispositions dominate under high virtuality by applying Trait Activation Theory to Virtual Collaboration. It then converts these insights into practical recommendations to build high-performing digital teams.