Communication as a catalyst for intellectual capital: examining trust and leadership effectiveness in virtual team management

Purpose Supervisors can establish trust and demonstrate effective leadership through direct face-to-face interactions in traditional workplace settings. However, as organizations increasingly transition to virtual work environments, maintaining trust (relational capital) and leadership effectiveness (human capital) as components of intellectual capital has become more challenging. Lack of physical presence, nonverbal cues, and spontaneous interactions in online communication can hinder the dynamics of intellectual capital. This study explores how face-to-face and virtual communication differ in fostering trust and maintaining leadership effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a quantitative method to conduct survey-based research. Data were collected from 369 full-time employees clustered into 79 teams serving in telecommunication companies from two work settings: physical work settings where team members had face-to-face interaction with supervisors, and virtual work settings where team members had online interactions with their supervisors. Findings The findings of the study reveal that leadership effectiveness (LE) is maintained in teams through face-to-face communication (FTFC) as well as virtual communication (VC). On the contrary, it was found that although supervisors have successfully developed trust (T) with the teams through face-to-face communication (FTFC), but importantly, they were unable to maintain trust (T) with team members through virtual communication (VC). This result is also in line with media naturalness theory (MNT). Practical implications The findings carry important implications for telecom sector management, virtual team leaders, psycholinguists, HR managers and educators in business communication and organizational behavior, particularly in sustaining and examining trust in virtual teams. Originality/value Although a theoretical foundation exists for the concept under study, it has not yet been empirically validated. This study addresses that gap by testing MNT within the context of virtual team dynamics, thereby contributing valuable empirical evidence. The study also provides valuable insights into the importance of communication modes in enhancing relational and human capital.