Brainstorming in Virtual Teams

Most research is conducted by teams rather than individuals, and due to a variety of technological advances many research teams do not work face-to-face; they work virtually. The creativity literature that explores how working as a member of a virtual team differs from working as a member of a face-to-face team or as an individual is reviewed in this chapter, with a focus on the idea generation phase of the research process. The chapter offers practical techniques to help researchers effectively and efficiently brainstorm in virtual teams. Specific techniques to guide researchers are offered based on laboratory and field research in electronic, face-to-face, and virtual brainstorming.