CALL FOR CHAPTERS
VIRTUAL TEAMS AND CREATIVITY: MANAGING VIRTUAL TEAMS EFFECTIVELY FOR HIGHER
CREATIVITY
A book edited by Dr. Steven P. MacGregor, University of Girona and Dr. Teresa Torres, Universitat
Rovira i Virgili, Spain
INTRODUCTION
Virtual teams constitute a relatively new knowledge area for both the academic and industrial
domains. Although the use of virtual teams is often a reactive measure in response to company
constraints, the potential benefits of leveraging resources from different locations can make them
a proactive choice. Creativity is often at the core of such proactive decisions.
It is time to produce new approaches to further the creative ability of virtual teams – achieving
high levels of creative performance is still an un-resolved problem. Little research exists on how a
virtual team can use creativity to perform better, or how to build a creative virtual environment.
With greater emphasis being placed on creative thinking and processes, ever-higher demands are
being placed on team creative performance with the aim of producing more successful
organizations that are innovative and adaptable. The purpose of this book is to address such
challenges.
THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THE BOOK
A thorough understanding of creativity and how it is affected when people are connected virtually
is critical for the effectiveness of such teams. To this end, the book will invite contributions from
both the academic and industrial communities. This overall mission is addressed through the
following objectives:
• Show the power of virtual teams for boosting creativity;
• Provide state of the art academic research on the phenomena of creativity and its behavior when
people are part of virtual teams;
• Present experiences from leading firms where the use of virtual teams was used for, or resulted
in, higher levels of creativity;
• Detail the use of new technology which aids the quest for creativity in virtual teams;
• Detail processes which may be used to support the technological aspect of virtual creativity.
THE TARGET AUDIENCE
Given the mission and objectives stated above, the audience will come from both the academic
and industrial communities, specifically:
• Academics working in the areas of virtual teams and/or creativity, including those from the
fields of engineering, psychology, anthropology, and management.
• Managers charged with implementing virtual teams in their organizations, specifically those who
aim to move their firms towards best in class.
• Consultants, and research and business school students eager to gain an understanding of real
implementation issues concerning virtual teams in leading organizations.
RECOMMENDED TOPICS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING:
The theory of creativity and virtual teams
• The concept of creativity and optimum conditions
• The advantages and disadvantages of virtual creativity
• Studies of improving creativity in virtual domains
• Models for optimizing creativity in virtual teams
The practice of creativity and virtual teams
• Tools and technology to support creativity in virtual teams
• Case studies on virtual teams charged with improving creativity
• Hardwiring virtual teams creativity to the innovation goals of a business
SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before November 30, 2005, a 2-5 page
manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of the proposed chapter.
Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by December 31, 2005 about the status of their
proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted
by April 30, 2006. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double blind review basis. The
book is scheduled to be published by Idea Group, Inc., publisher of the “Idea Group Publishing”,
“Information Science” and IRM Press imprints in 2007.
Inquires and submissions should be e-mailed to:
Steven MacGregor ([log in to unmask]) and Teresa Torres ([log in to unmask])
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