Collaborative teams are becoming increasingly important for industry, both
within and across companies. There is a need for communication technology t
o support teams because many teams are non-collocated, or 'virtual'. Two au
tomotive supply chain teams were observed while they were experimenting wit
h multimedia conferencing in order to determine what support non-collocated
teams need and the potential effects of introducing technologies on their
group processes. The observations included meeting recordings and other sou
rces t hat show the organizational factors affecting teams. Working in team
s requires very close collaboration. Communication technology can help team
s if it is used to foster close and relatively informal person-to-person in
teraction. Organizational constraints on how the technology is introduced f
avour high-technology, special-purpose installations, but teams can best be
supported using relatively modest equipment with desktop access.