research-article

In the Flow, Being Heard, and Having Opportunities: Sources of Power and Power Dynamics in Global Teams

Authors:

Pamela Hinds,

Daniela Retelny,

Catherine CramtonAuthors Info & Claims

CSCW '15: Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing

Pages 864 - 875

https://doi.org/10.1145/2675133.2675199

Published: 28 February 2015 Publication History

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Abstract

In our qualitative study of 9 globally distributed software development teams, we found that power and how it was distributed across locations had a significant effect on team dynamics. We describe the sources of power for these teams, which include being in the flow of information, feeling that one's voice is heard by decision makers, and having opportunities for career growth and advancement. We also examine power dynamics across locations by team and show that having more balanced power was typically associated with more power struggles rather than fewer. Four of the 9 teams had ongoing power contests. Each of these teams had some sources of power at one location and other sources of power at the other location. Both sites worried about losing power, felt they should have more, and struggled against losing ground. We conclude with a discussion of the need for CSCW to expand beyond collaboration to address issues of power. We propose ideas for systems to support globally distributed teams in creating more equal access to more sources of power and alleviating unhealthy power dynamics.

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In the Flow, Being Heard, and Having Opportunities: Sources of Power and Power Dynamics in Global Teams
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing and business

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Reviews

Reviewer: Brad D. Reid

The US authors provide an important study of the power dynamics in nine global teams at GlobalTech, a software development organization. Four of the nine teams had power contests. The authors rightly conclude that discussing computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) must look "beyond collaboration to address issues of power." Managers, team leaders, and team members will want to review this study. The paper begins with an overview of power in organizations and power in global teams. The researchers "found that the sources of power were more complex than simply being located at headquarters and the relative number of team members." Having "spent approximately 18 months collecting data," this data was analyzed using NVivo. They learned that sources of power came from access to information, access to decision makers, and being heard. Clearly this suggests management decisions that might level the field for all teams. A page-length chart nicely summarizes the teams' tasks, relative sources of power, and power dynamics. Power contests tended to last over a long duration and were most severe where team members "had valuable sources of power that led them to feel that they should have more power and influence." The researchers concluded that power contests tended to be dominated by concerns over capturing work and opportunities for growth. English language skills tended to translate into more access to decision makers. Systems supporting collaboration are crucial. Perceived opportunities for growth will reduce power contests. Hence, leaders and distant workers must have two-way communication. Consider providing growth opportunities across locations. Leaders must be able to identify the power dynamics and sources of power across teams and locations. With a beginning abstract and a concluding list of references, this study may be quickly read and easily incorporated into existing management practices. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Published In

CSCW '15: Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing

February 2015

1956 pages

ISBN:9781450329224

DOI:10.1145/2675133

General Chairs:
Dan Cosley
Cornell University, USA
,
Andrea Forte
Drexel University, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Luigina Ciolfi
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
,
David McDonald
University of Washington, USA

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Publication History

Published: 28 February 2015

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National Science Foundation

Conference

CSCW '15

Sponsor:

SIGCHI

CSCW '15: Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing

March 14 - 18, 2015

BC, Vancouver, Canada

Acceptance Rates

CSCW '15 Paper Acceptance Rate 161 of 575 submissions, 28%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 2,235 of 8,521 submissions, 26%

Upcoming Conference

CSCW '25

Sponsor:
sigchi

Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing

October 18 - 22, 2025

Bergen , Norway

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