Virtual Teams Rethink Creativity: A New Theory Using Asynchronous Communications

A new theory, Asynchronous Creativity Theory (ACT), and a new model, the Media-Cognitive-Social Model of Creativity, are both proposed. The model takes a cross-disciplinary look at the effects of communication media capabilities on the traditional social and cognitive factors affecting creativity. The focus of the theory is on teams which use primarily asynchronous electronic communication media. Feedback is less immediate and interactions carry less language and social cues than face-to-face communications, but recent research suggests that the ultimate effects of these “losses” may serve to induce creativity. Additional features of asynchronicity – higher parallelism, rehearsability, and reprocessability – appear to enhance creativity. The net effect of the interplay of media, cognitive, and social influences is that virtual teams using asynchronous media may have greater potential for creativity than synchronous face-to-face teams. Organizational impacts could include improved innovation, cost reduction, and reshaping the structure and nature of work in organizations.