Lead Author: Grishma Shah

Research Question

With in education, we know that there is an argument to be made for small class sizes. For example, many institutions boast small class sizes as an important predictor of student success. It allows for more personal attention by the instructor and allows students that may otherwise slip through the cracks to be more visible as instructors can focus on individual needs and talents. There are countless other benefits. However, we do not know if the small  size of the physical classroom will have any effect on Global Virtual Teams (GVTs). I would like to investigate the performance of  X-culture teams from small institutions with small class sizes versus teams from larger institutions with large class sizes. Essentially, we are trying to gauge if the value of the small class size transcends virtual space?

Dependent Variables

Performance of students on teams at multiple stages

Independent Variables

Class and Institution Size

Controls/Moderators

UG/MBA, Age, Team size, prior experience, culture dimensions, team efficacy, trust, communication, etc. (More to be consisted based on lit review/data)

Implications

As our students go out in the real world and begin to work on GVTs, will there be a predictable difference for employees working at small versus large institutions in the real world.  Does the size of the institution effect the performance of employees on GVTs. Many more implications can be developed based on results for both higher education and firms.

Status: 

Data collected, initial version of the paper presented at a conference.