Call for Chapters: Preparing Students in Higher Education for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Teams

Editors

Jill Nemiro, Cal Poly Pomona, United States

Call for Chapters

Proposals Submission Deadline: December 2, 2024
Full Chapters Due: February 28, 2025

Introduction

Over the last twenty years, creativity has been shown to be a critical element to contemporary organizations, especially as global competition, the need for innovation, and technological advances have intensified. The rise of technological advances has produced an increase in remote work and virtual teams, especially within business settings to deal with global competition and the rise of non-routine work (Nemiro, 2023). Rudimentary or routine work that was once performed by individuals has become automated, and much of the work that remains is knowledge-based and non-routine, which requires critical and creative thought (Mohrman et al., 1995; Nemiro, 2023). Virtual teams have been defined as teams with members in which communication and work tasks are accomplished primarily through technology and are contrasted with traditional teams that accomplish work face-to-face (Nemiro, 2004, 2025). With the expanded use of virtual teams in business settings, researchers began to investigate how to design and manage this new way of working to enhance effectiveness and productivity (Garro-Abarca et al., 2021). However, the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 generated an even greater increase in the utilization of remote work and virtual teams not only in business but in higher education as well. As mandatory lockdowns were enforced globally, faculty and students, who were previously used to teaching and learning face-to-face, were forced to quickly transition to virtual instruction, and to adapt team assignments into virtual team assignments (Cornella-Dorda et al., 2020). This was all done quickly, with limited opportunities for students to learn and develop the skills of working on virtual teams before having to engage in them to complete course requirements (Charteris et al., 2021; Jensen & Trespalacios, 2022). Not only were there limited training opportunities for students to learn how to work effectively in virtual teams, but limited textbooks tailored to students on virtual teamwork skills as well. Today, it appears that the trend toward remote work and virtual teams is not going away. Many businesses have recognized the benefits of remote work done during the pandemic, and as a result, have continued to find ways to give employees the option of working remotely, moving into what has now been referred to as “a new normal way of working” (Dans, 2020; McKnight, 2021). Thus, it is crucial to teach students how to work effectively in virtual teams to prepare them for their future careers. Training current employees in virtual teaming skills is also necessary, as more professionals are transitioning into remote or hybrid work. Preparing Students in Higher Education for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Teams will provide university faculty and students, and business professionals with an in-depth understanding of how to design academic courses and business training experiences that can offer employees and college-level students hands-on experiences to develop virtual teamwork skills.

Objective

Preparing Students in Higher Education for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Teams will have two major aims – (a) to nurture students’ professional development by enhancing their creativity while working in virtual teams, and (b) to provide faculty with relevant knowledge, expertise, and case examples to assist them in designing and implementing effective virtual team learning experiences in their courses. This book will extend application of a prominent five-component model for ensuring high levels of creativity in virtual teams in business (as outlined in Nemiro, 2004; 2025) to the field of higher education. The five components are: 1) design (work design; leadership structure); 2) climate (interpersonal and task connection between team members; conditions necessary for creativity); 3) resources (communication tools and creativity techniques and technology to support a virtual team’s creative work); 4) norms and protocols (norms that assist virtual teams in effectively communicating and managing tasks and projects); and 5) continual assessment and learning (strategies to develop virtual teamwork skills and lessons for future virtual team development).

Target Audience

The primary target audience for Preparing Students in Higher Education for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Teams will be college-level students and faculty in business, communication studies, computer information systems, education, educational leadership, engineering, general business, international business, instructional design, instructional technology, management and human resources, organizational development and change, organizational psychology, and technology and operations management. In addition, many universities offer professional certificates and/or extension programs to employees across the globe. These programs may use this book in courses offered to working professionals on virtual teamwork. Businesses may also use this book in company training programs on virtual collaboration and teamwork. Even students and business professionals who are not part of virtual teams may find the content of this book transferable to their in-person teams.

Recommended Topics

Chapters are invited to be included in one of the five parts of the book, each part corresponding with one of the five key components for creativity in virtual teams (as outlined by Nemiro, 2004; 2025). Chapter proposals can take on one of three forms: a) chapters that describe original research on virtual teams in higher education; b) chapters that provide conceptual and theoretical development on relevant issues, and c) chapters that describe original case studies and/or hands-on learning experiences of virtual teams in higher education. Authors are encouraged to state in the "additional information" text box on the submissions proposal form which part of the book their chapter would most fit with. Part 1 – Design. Topics in this section may include: 1) Effective work design approaches to encourage creativity in student virtual teams; 2) Initial team member selection and composition; 3) Types of leadership styles used by faculty to guide student virtual teams; 4) Types of leadership structures used by student virtual teams to guide their work; and 5) Necessary initial training for faculty and students before implementation of virtual teams in coursework. Part 2 – Climate. Topics in this section may include: 1) How to develop, monitor, and maintain interpersonal connection (information sharing, personal bond, and trust) between student team members; 2) How to develop, monitor, and maintain task connection (dedication and commitment, and goal clarity) in student virtual teams; 3) How to develop and maintain appropriate conditions for virtual team creativity, such as an acceptance of ideas and constructive tension among team members, a challenge in the work, the sense of freedom and autonomy in the work, and ensuring sufficient resources and time for the team’s project; and 4) Needed KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) for students and faculty engaging in virtual teamwork. Part 3 – Resources. Topics in this section may include: 1) Benefits, challenges, and case examples of specific communication tools available for student virtual teams; 2) Benefits, challenges, and case examples of specific creativity software programs available for student virtual teams; and 3) The use of AI applications in student virtual teams. Part 4 – Norms and protocols. Topics in this section may include: 1) The use of team charters in virtual teams; 2) Essential norms and protocols for communicating effectively in student virtual teams; and 3) Essential norms and protocols for effectively managing tasks and projects in student virtual teams. Part 5 – Continual assessment and learning. Topics in this section may include: 1) Types of continual training needed for faculty and students engaged in virtual teamwork; 2) How to evaluate and assess students’ virtual collaboration skills; 3) Ways for faculty and instructors to exchange, share, and fine-tune the virtual team experiences in their courses to create greater student engagement; and 4) Ways to support and ensure inclusion of diverse students in virtual team assignments.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before December 2, 2024, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by December 20, 2024 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters of a minimum of 10,000 words (word count includes references and related readings) are expected to be submitted by February 28, 2025, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at https://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-anonymized review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Preparing Students in Higher Education for Creative Collaboration in Virtual Teams. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-anonymized peer review editorial process.

All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery^® online submission manager.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), an international academic publisher of the "Information Science Reference" (formerly Idea Group Reference), "Medical Information Science Reference," "Business Science Reference," and "Engineering Science Reference" imprints. IGI Global specializes in publishing reference books, scholarly journals, and electronic databases featuring academic research on a variety of innovative topic areas including, but not limited to, education, social science, medicine and healthcare, business and management, information science and technology, engineering, public administration, library and information science, media and communication studies, and environmental science. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit https://www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2025.

Important Dates

December 2, 2024: Proposal Submission Deadline
December 20, 2024: Notification of Acceptance
February 28, 2025: Full Chapter Submission
March 28, 2025: Review Results Returned
April 25, 2025: Final Acceptance Notification
May 5, 2025: Final Chapter Submission

Inquiries

Jill Nemiro
Cal Poly Pomona
jenemiro@cpp.edu

Classifications

Business and Management; Computer Science and Information Technology; Education; Media and Communications; Social Sciences and Humanities

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