CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE TEAMS

A Qualitative Study of Swedish Companies

Authors: Erik Berggren & Mustafa Al-Mashhadani

Degree Project, 30 hp
Business Administration, 240 hp
Spring term 2023
Supervisor: Thomas Biedenbach
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, we would like to thank all the participants who generously contributed their time to
make this study possible. Your expertise, perspectives, and reflections have been invaluable
for us.

We would also like to express our gratitude to our degree project supervisor Thomas
Biedenbach for his support and guidance through the journey.

Lastly, we would like to thank our friends for the constant support of never giving up and
continuing to push through this degree project.

Thank you,
Erik Berggren & Mustafa Al-Mashhadani
Umeå, 10th of October, 2023
 ABSTRACT

In recent years, remote work has been increasingly adopted globally, with many
organizations adopting working in remote teams. Remote teams are a new phenomenon that
have unique challenges compared to traditional teams. Distance makes it more difficult to
communicate and collaborate effectively which can lead to misunderstandings and
misinterpretation causing conflicts. There is existing literature specifically on conflict
management in remote teams but is to some extent out-of-date as technology has developed.
This study aims to complement existing literature to better understand how conflicts in
remote teams are best prevented and managed by answering the research question: “What
are the unique challenges of conflict management in remote teams, main causes of conflicts
in remote teams and how can they be resolved effectively?”

This study had an inductive qualitative approach, utilizing interviews to answer our research
question. Six participants were interviewed, and the data was analyzed using a thematic
analysis. Our findings present unique challenges, with poor communication standing out as
a primary concern causing conflicts. To overcome these challenges the findings concludes
four main strategies for leaders and managers to use in conflict management within remote
teams. These strategies are to enhance communication and provide structure, foster
interpersonal connections and trust, practicing explicit management, and compromising as
a method in conflict resolution.

Keywords

Collaboration, communication, compromise, distance, explicit management, interpersonal

connections, remote team, structure, team management, trust.

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 Table of Contents
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE TEAMS ............................................................... 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 SUBJECT CHOICE ................................................................................................................ 6
1.2 PROBLEM BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 6
1.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH GAP ............................................... 7
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION ....................................................................................................... 8
1.5 PURPOSE ............................................................................................................................... 8
2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................ 10
2.1 DEFINING REMOTE TEAMS ............................................................................................ 10
2.2 TEAM MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 10
2.3 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS ............................................................... 12
2.3.1 Distance ......................................................................................................................... 12
2.3.2 Nature of Work .............................................................................................................. 13
2.3.3 Explicit Management ..................................................................................................... 14
2.3.4 Composition of Teams................................................................................................... 16
2.3.5 Cultural Diveristy .......................................................................................................... 17
2.4 CONFLICT RESOLUTION RESEARCH ........................................................................... 19
2.5 SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 22
3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................................... 24
3.1 PRE-UNDERSTANDINGS ................................................................................................. 24
3.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY ................................................................................................ 24
3.2.1 Ontology ........................................................................................................................ 25
3.2.2 Epistemology ................................................................................................................. 25
3.3 RESEARCH APPROACH ................................................................................................... 26
3.4 LITERATURE SEARCH & SOURCE CRITISIM .............................................................. 27
3.5 RESEARCH DESIGN .......................................................................................................... 28
3.6 DATA COLLECTION ......................................................................................................... 28
3.6.1 Sampling Procedure....................................................................................................... 29
3.6.2 Sample Size ................................................................................................................... 30
3.7 INTERVIEW GUIDE ........................................................................................................... 31
3.8 INTERVIEW PROCESS ...................................................................................................... 31
3.9 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 32
3.10 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ........................................................................................ 33
4.0 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ....................................................................................................... 34
4.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY PARTICIPANTS......................................................... 34
4.2 FINDINGS FROM THE INTERVIEWS ............................................................................. 34
4.3 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS ............................................................... 34
4.3.1 Lack of Communication ................................................................................................ 35
4.3.2 Insufficient Interpersonal Connections .......................................................................... 35
4.3.3 Technological Understanding ........................................................................................ 36
4.4 COMMON CAUSES OF CONFLICTS IN REMOTE TEAMS .......................................... 36

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 4.4.1 Poor Communication ..................................................................................................... 36
4.4.2 Lack of Trust and Interpersonal Connection ................................................................. 37
4.4.3 Lack of Preparation and Obscurity ................................................................................ 38
4.5 FACTORS AFFECTING CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE TEAMS .............. 39
4.5.1 Distance ......................................................................................................................... 39
4.5.2 Nature of Work .............................................................................................................. 41
4.5.3 Explicit Management and Leadership ........................................................................... 43
4.5.4 Organizational Culture .................................................................................................. 50
4.5.5 Communication Tools and Autonomy........................................................................... 52
5.0 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................................ 56
5.1 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS ............................................................... 56
5.1.1 Communication ............................................................................................................. 56
5.1.2 Trust and Interpersonal Connections ............................................................................. 56
5.1.3 Technological Understanding and Communication Tools ............................................ 57
5.2 COMMON CAUSES OF CONFLICTS IN REMOTE TEAMS .......................................... 57
5.2.1 Poor Communication ..................................................................................................... 57
5.2.2 Lack of Trust and Interpersonal Connection ................................................................. 57
5.2.3 Technological Understanding and Structure ................................................................. 58
5.3 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES .................................................................... 59
5.3.1 Enhance Communication and Provide Structure ........................................................... 59
5.3.2 Building Trust and Interpersonal Connections .............................................................. 60
5.3.3 Explicit Management ..................................................................................................... 61
5.3.4 Compromising ............................................................................................................... 62
6.0 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 66
6.1 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 66
6.2 THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS .................................................................................. 67
6.3 PRACTICAL CONTIBUTIONS .......................................................................................... 67
6.4 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS .............................................................................................. 68
6.5 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH ..................................................................... 68
7.0 TRUTH CRITERIA ................................................................................................................ 70
7.1 CRITERIAS FOR QUALITATIVE EVALUATION .......................................................... 70
7.1.1 Credibility ...................................................................................................................... 70
7.1.2 Transferability ............................................................................................................... 70
7.1.3 Dependability ................................................................................................................ 70
7.1.4 Confirmability ............................................................................................................... 71
References ....................................................................................................................................... 72
Appendix 1: Interview Guide .......................................................................................................... 78

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 1.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to familiarize the reader with our research's theme, provide a
comprehensive perspective on our theoretical framework, and highlight a shortfall in the
existing literature. Additionally, we will describe relevant theories and concepts.
Furthermore, we will justify our choice of study and demonstrate how our research
methodology can close the gap in the current literature. Finally, we will unveil our research
questions and the objective of our degree project.

1.1 SUBJECT CHOICE

We are two students from Umeå University studying Business Administration. The targeted
areas we have studied in-depth are management and business development. We both are
very interested in management, especially problem-solving related subjects. For this thesis
we wanted to pick a subject that fits our interests combined with a topic that is of big
relevance in today’s society. Both of us have worked remotely with different projects and
found out that conflicts often occur in remote scenarios. We therefore found a suitable
subject for us that this thesis will examine. Namely conflict management in remote teams.

Recent years have shown that remote work is here to stay. Both of us want to become a
good manager in the future, so for us, studying this subject is not only fun, but it will also
contribute with good information and practices that we will be able bring with us into
working life as a manager.

1.2 PROBLEM BACKGROUND

In recent years, remote work has become a popular trend, with many organizations adopting
remote work arrangements to boost flexibility and suit shifting work habits. Factors
contributing to the trend toward remote work, includes technology developments, a rising
need for work-life balance, and the possibility to reduce costs that comes with remote work
setting. The development of new technology such as high-speed internet and
communication tools, has made it possible to work anytime from anywhere (Wang et al.,
2021, p. 17-18, 51; Hardin et al., 2007, p. 130).

The tendency for remote work in Sweden has grown as well, mirroring a global trend toward
remote work. Remote work is considered to promote flexibility and accommodate changing
work patterns in Sweden, which has a strong heritage of work-life balance. Furthermore,
Sweden is recognized for its high-speed internet and technological infrastructure, which has
made remote work more accessible. As a result, many Swedish organizations have
established full-time or part-time remote work arrangements (Vilhelmson & Thulin, 2016,
p. 77-80). Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the trend toward remote work in
general, as businesses and workers embraced remote work as a solution to keep operations
running throughout the pandemic. Remote work is projected to become an increasingly
popular choice in the future as firms and people embrace the benefits of remote work (Wang
et al., 2021 p. 51).

Obstacles that remote work faces is of less significance in traditional office environment.
The lack of face-to-face connection is one of the specific obstacles of remote employment.
Employees who work remotely miss out on the casual, day-to-day contact that takes place
in a regular office setting. This might make it difficult for remote employees to connect with
their colleagues and feel a part of their firm (Larson et al., 2020). Remote employees may
find it challenging to be taken seriously and completely engaged in crucial decisions and
conversations because of this. Another disadvantage of remote employment is the
possibility of isolation and loneliness. Individuals working remotely may experience long
periods of loneliness and disconnection from the external world (Wang et al., 2021, p. 27-

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28). This situation can be particularly challenging for employees who are used to work in a
traditional office environment. Remote employment also meets communication and
cooperation issues. Remote employees may lose out on informal communication channels
that occur in a typical office setting, such as water cooler talks and unplanned meetings.
Furthermore, because they are not there to attend in regular meetings and discussions,
remote employees may struggle to keep informed about crucial updates and advancements
(Wang et al., 2021, p. 34, 49-50).

The possibility to work from any place at any time can be a great opportunity and add value
to organizations, on the other hand when people is not situated in the same place unique
challenges arise in managing remote teams effectively. These challenges include difficulty
in establishing a common purpose, monitoring, and planning the team’s activities, create
unclear role expectations, and bring lack of motivation and trust within the team. Failing to
overcome these factors will inevitably lead to conflicts (Kahai et al., 2012, p. 717).

1.3 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH GAP

The study of conflict management in remote teams has a theoretical foundation in
organizational behavior, leadership style, team management and conflict resolution.

Organizational behavior is a field that studies individual and group behavior as well as
organizational processes. This field includes a variety of theories and ideas that describe
how humans interact and behave within an organizational setting, as well as how these
interactions and behaviors affect organizational results and effectiveness. One of the main
theoretical stances in organizational behavior is the trait approach, which contends that a
person's attributes and personality traits play a significant role in shaping their behavior and
actions in an organizational environment (DuBrin, 2018, p. 37).

How a leader is perceived by others is basically based on his traits, however, a person may
develop his leadership qualities through education, training, and practicing. Leadership has
a significant impact on the level of trust inside a team. Previous research has demonstrated
that leaders may significantly increase team performance by fostering a sense of fellowship
among colleagues, resolving conflicts, and defining responsibilities within the team
(Wakefield et al., 2008, p. 436-437). Successful leaders must have a wide range of abilities
and expertise, including communication, motivation, and inspiring leadership (DuBrin,
2018, p. 279). There are a range of different leadership theories in existing research that can
be broadly divided into three focus areas, firstly, research focusing on leaders’ attribute and
how these affects individual, group or organization performance (who one is), secondly,
relationship-focused research investigates leaders actions taken to create team spirit and
good relationships within the group (how one interacts) and finally, research studying
functions or roles performed by effective leaders (what one does), (Wakefield et al., 2008,
p. 438). Despite the large amount of previous research in the field that provides a range of
different leadership theories, researchers haven’t developed a specific set of behaviors and
styles that all successful leaders should follow (Tortorella & Fogliatto, 2017, p. 948).

Team management is associated with leadership, team management includes both

management and leadership activities and are equally important for team performance.
Team management can be described as the leaders’ ability to implement management
activities to reach team goals, for example having effective processes, planning, and
coordinating, as well as leadership activities such as listening, supporting, motivating,
focusing on team members (PMBOK, 2021, p. 17).

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Part of team management that leaders must deal with is conflict resolution. Conflicts can be
defined as the disagreements or differences that arise between individuals, groups, or
organizations over issues such as goals, interests, values, methods, and beliefs (Wakefield
et al., 2008, p. 435). To effectively address conflicts the underlying cause of the conflict has
to be understood to be able to develop effective conflict resolution methods (DuBrin, 2018,
p. 406). Conflict management in traditional office environment differs from conflict
management in remote teams. Remote teams work in a different setting than typical teams
and face a range of unique issues that may impact conflict resolution. Among the obstacles
include difficulties in establishing and sustaining relationships and trust among team
members, communication issues, cultural and time zone variations, feelings of isolation, a
lack of physical connection, and feelings of loneliness (Larson et al., 2020).

There is much previous research on leadership, team management, and conflict

management, which are fundamental insights one must have to understand factors that affect
group dynamics and team performance. Effective leadership is the basis for preventing
conflicts and creating well-functioning teams (Hooijberg, 1996, p. 918). Working in remote
team setting has been rapidly adopted by many organizations in recent years as well as the
research examining different topics in remote teamwork (Tavoletti & Taras, (2022, p. 1061),
Tavoletti & Taras, (2022, p. 1062), performed a systematic literature review and found that
research within the topic has exploded in recent years, their research shows that “From 1999
to 2020, there was a more than tenfold increase in articles on the subject”. Despite of all
research made in the field of virtual and remote teams it is difficult to find
empirical studies in the near term that specifically delineate how to manage conflicts in
remote teams. However, there are a few existing studies on the subject, one of these are for
example, Wakefield at al. (2008) that made the study “A Model of Conflict, Leadership, and
Performance in Virtual Teams”. This study was though performed 15 years ago, and one
can argue that the increased adoption of remote teams due to the Pandemic and the
development of new technologies has to some extent outdated the study, and the subject
requires extended research. In order to fill this “research gap” our study strives to better
understand how conflict affects remote teams and the need for efficient conflict resolution
strategies.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION

What are the unique challenges of conflict management in remote teams, main causes of
conflicts in remote teams and how can they be resolved effectively?

1.5 PURPOSE
The goal of the study is to better understand conflict causes in remote teams and the need
for efficient conflict resolution strategies. The study will contribute to the body of
knowledge on conflict management in remote teams by examining conflict management in
remote teams.

This thesis will concentrate on Swedish companies who have embraced remote teamwork
and will offer practical insights into conflict resolution in remote teams. Additionally, the
research will examine significant theories on cooperation, organizational behavior, and
conflict resolution. Further research is needed in some areas, which will be identified. In
order to answer our research question, we have focused on examining different industries,
and employees with different types of positions. The industries studied are an insurance
company, three IT companies and two traditional manufacturing industries.

This thesis also helps to develop effective conflict management strategies for remote teams.
The findings of the study will assist managers in enhancing their ability for addressing

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conflicts and maintaining a productive workplace. This thesis will also expand the
knowledge on conflict resolution in remote teams, as existing literature on the subject is
scarce (Wakefield et al., 2008, p. 235).

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 2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theoretical framework serves as a critical section that sets the stage for the following
study. This chapter examines existing theories and sets a foundation for our study. The
chapter will first provide a definition of remote teams, followed by encompassing team
management in a remote work setting. Furthermore, will this chapter present the unique
challenges inherent in a remote team. Lastly, we present existing theories of conflict
resolution strategies.

2.1 DEFINING REMOTE TEAMS

In the article by Wakefield et al. (2008, p. 435), a remote team is described as a group of
individuals who collaborate through interdependent tasks guided by a common purpose and
work across spatial, temporal, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by
communication technologies. The flexibility of remote teams allows them to include
members from various professions, functions, organizations, and countries, regardless of
their physical location. Brady & Prentice (2019, p. 1-3) defines a remote team as a team
working together towards a common goal distributed geographically. Other studies with
definitions of remote teams uses the keywords “diverse skills”, “different cultures” but all
focuses on the main phenomenon of a remote team, namely the geographical distance. The
following section will try to explain the differences, or rather similarities between a remote
team and a virtual team.

Existing literatures are contradictory and does not provide a clear answer as to what the
difference is between a virtual- and remote team. For example, Mayer et al. (2022, p. 92)
defines virtual teams as a team that has a core of geographical distribution and the need and
use of digital communication and communication technologies. They also emphasizes the
use of communication technologies instead of face-to-face meetings as one of the main
differences to traditional teams. Mansour-Cole, (2001, p. 42-43) also defines virtual teams
as “small groups of people working on interdependent tasks across boundaries, supported
by electronic technologies”. She also states that the core characteristics of a virtual team are
the distribution of physical spaces i.e., different countries, cities, or buildings. Due to the
fact that the existing literature does not offer a clear answer to the question of the difference
between a remote team and a virtual team, this study will use the same definition for a
remote team as Brady & Prentice (2019, p. 1-3) which is mentioned earlier.

2.2 TEAM MANAGEMENT

Team management is an essential part of organizational behavior that refers to the process
of leading and guiding a group of persons toward a common objective. Effective team
management is critical for any organization's success since it optimizes team performance
and contributes to a healthy work environment. To do so, team leaders must have a wide
range of abilities and expertise, including communication, motivation, and inspiring
leadership (DuBrin, 2018, p. 279). Transformational, and situational leadership theories are
two examples among a range of theoretical viewpoints on management. The importance of
leaders in inspiring and motivating team members to attain collective goals is emphasized
in transformational leadership theory and can be a successful approach to improve the
performance of organizations or teams. Transformational leaders should have a range of
skills, for example the ability to raise people’s awareness, help people look beyond their
self-interest, help people search for self-fulfillment, help people to understand needs for
change, adopt long-range broad perspective and build trust between leaders and group
members. (DuBrin, 2018, p. 92-93). Situational leadership theory emphasizes leaders'
capacity to change their leadership style to match the changing requirements and
development levels of team members. Situational leadership contains four dimensions,
delegating, participating, coaching, and directing (Pasaribu, 2015, p. 69).

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The importance of effective team management cannot be overstated. A well-managed team
can improve productivity, increase efficiency, and foster creativity and innovation (DuBrin,
2018, p. 4-5). Effective team management can also lead to higher employee satisfaction
and higher productivity, as team members feel valued and supported in their work (DuBrin,
2018, p. 281-282). Conversely, poor team management can result in low morale, high
turnover rates, and decreased productivity (DuBrin, 2018, p. 281). Additionally, conflicts
and misunderstandings within a team can lead to missed deadlines, errors, and ultimately
project failure. To be an effective team manager, one must possess a range of skills and
knowledge. Firstly, a team manager should have strong communication skills, both verbal
and written. Effective communication ensures that team members understand their roles and
responsibilities, project goals, and timelines (DuBrin, 2018, p. 281). Secondly, a team
manager should be able to resolve conflicts and manage difficult situations (DuBrin, 2018,
p. 402).

According to Mayer et al. (2022, p. 91) previous research has found that shared leadership
where the responsibility is shared among team members could be a successful way to
approach leadership in remote teams and overcome the unique challenges inherent in remote
teamwork. Shared leadership in a team are positive related to team satisfaction, innovation
and proactivity which all leads to better team functioning and less conflicts since the team
experience higher trust and cohesion within the group (Wu et al., 2020, p. 50). In the study
by Wu et al. (2020, p. 57) they have done a meta-analysis of previous research on shared
leadership containing 40 studies including 3019 teams trying to find relationship between
factors that contribute to emergence of shared leadership in a team. Factors examined was
internal team environment and team characteristics. Internal team environment in their
context is described as shared purpose (all team members share the same goal and focus
their efforts to reach that goal), social support (from team leader and each other) and voice
(described as team members willingness to speak up and be involved in decision making
and key-processes). Team characteristics includes in their study, heterogeneity among team
members (diversity among team members regarding for example education, experience,
age, culture, nationality, and profession) size of the team and team maturity (Wu et al., 2020,
p. 52-54). Their findings in the study shows that shared purpose, social support, and voice
all of them internal team environment factors were positively related to the emergence of
shared leadership. The findings also highlight that heterogeneity contributes to team
members willingness to share leadership, which could be explained as team members
diversity encourages the exchange of knowledge and information, which leads to increased
communication and engagement among team members. Regarding team size and team
maturity the findings could not prove that these factors had any influence on shared
leadership (Wu et al., 2020, p. 60). Future research should include more factors contributing
to emergence of shared leadership to get a deeper understanding (Wu et al., 2020, p. 61).

Another perspective of shared leadership research focuses on behavioral dimensions of

shared leadership classified in task-orientated leadership and relations-orientated
leadership. A task-orientated leader is skilled in, communicate goals, planning, supporting
work progress and problem solving with focus at completing team task with quality and
effectiveness together with the team. Relations-orientated leader focus on team satisfaction
by creating conditions for good relations and working climate within the group (Mayer et
al., 2022, p. 95). Previous research has mainly focused on shared leadership impact on team
performance but not on individual level. Just a few studies examine the effects from shared
leadership on individual level such as perceived individual satisfaction and task
performance. Leaders in remote teams must create an atmosphere that enables team
functionality and successful team performance as well as taking care of all individual needs

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in the team. Due to inherent challenges in remote teams further research on individual level
is needed (Mayer et al., 2022, p. 95). In the study of Mayer et al. (2022, p. 95), they examine
“which leadership behaviors can be shared and how it affects individual team members
subjectively perceived productivity and satisfaction with leadership”. Findings from the
study is that individuals in remote teams are positive to shared task-orientated leadership
where responsibility is shared among team members and not solely lie with the team
manager. Their participation in planning, distribution of workload and responsibility, goal
setting, evaluation of progress and problem-solving led to a feeling of higher satisfaction
with the leadership and they also felt more productive in their work (Mayer et al., 2022, p.
102). Opposite to the shared task-oriented leadership the study also showed that shared
relation-orientated leadership were experienced negatively by team members. Team
members expected that this responsibility should be on the team leader, such as supporting
and encouraging individuals in stressful situations, notice effective solutions and inspiring
team members to come up with new ideas and innovations as well as giving supporting
feedback (Mayer et al., 2022, p. 103).

2.3 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS

Remote teams are affected by actual factors such as actual location, lack of physical
interaction, different time zones, team member diversity in nationalities, language, culture
and working styles (Ford et al., 2017, p. 29). These obstacles lead to various factors that can
impact on team effectiveness, failure to achieve set project goals and in the end lead to
conflicts. Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, (2020, p. 5) states factors that can be challenges in
remote teamwork, such as, awareness of colleagues and their context, motivational sense of
presence of others, trust is more difficult to establish, the level of technical competence of
the team members, nature of work, explicit management, shared ideals, the
competitive/cooperative culture and alignment of incentives and goals. These factors and
unique challenges can have effect on team effectiveness, failure to achieve set project goals
and in the end lead to conflicts.

Conflicts can be described as disputes or disparities arising among individuals, groups, or

organizations regarding different goals, interests, values, methodologies, and beliefs
(Wakefield et al., 2008, p. 435). The nature of these conflicts necessitates a comprehensive
approach to address their underlaying causes and to develop effective methods for resolution
(Wakefield et al., 2008, p. 435). The nature of conflicts varies and can be categorized into
different types, interpersonal and intragroup conflicts depending in which context they arise.
Interpersonal conflicts involve disputes between two individuals, often caused by
differences in personality, values, or beliefs (Donohue & Kolt, 1992, p. 4). Intragroup
conflicts, on the other hand, occurs within a team and can be caused by factors such as
disagreements related to goals, decision-making processes, or interpersonal relationships
(Pinjani & Palvia, 2013, p. 145-147). To effectively address and resolve conflicts in a
remote team it is important to understand the nature of the conflict. Understanding the nature
of the conflicts helps the development of effective conflict resolution strategies that
minimizes the negative affects on organizations, team performance and individuals.

2.3.1 Distance
The distance in remote teams might be classified as physical, temporal, or perceived
(Cummings, 2011, p. 26; Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p. 11). The time and money spent
traveling to and from a colleague's office can be described as “geographic distance" rather
than their actual physical distance. Temporal distance can be both an obstacle as well as an
advantage. Team members can experience difficulties to reach out and share information
with other members of the group due to different time zones or work shift. A positive
outcome from temporal distance is that a project can be constantly on-going, meaning that

12
when one team member quit work another team member continues the work (Cummings,
2011, p. 26). When team members in different time zones stick to their own schedules, they
can produce consistent project progress, but this is not always the case. In fact, different
time zones can cause schedules to clash, the need for careful planning is crucial to avoid
project delays (See, 2018, p. 2). When employees don't have as many chances to talk to each
other during the workday, mistakes happen. This makes tasks like editing and clarifying
take longer and makes it harder to adapt to new situations. Delays in coordination are an
additional disadvantage for progress (Espinosa & Carmel, 2004, p. 1).

While physical and temporal distance are a fact, perceived distance can be explained as a
team members emotion, meaning the experienced feelings of distance to other team
members (Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p. 11). The fact that remote teams are dispersed
physically might lead to lack of communication and trust which can lead to
misunderstandings and conflicts. Distance affects remote teamwork in various ways, of
which lack of physical interaction might be the most important for communication skills.
When communicating remotely you miss out of important non-verbal cues, such as body
language and difficulties reading emotions (Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p. 11). The way
we communicate is a cornerstone of all efforts to achieve progress in team performance
(Newman et al., 2020, p. 453). Since remote teams has to rely on technology in
communication such as virtual meetings and e-mail communication the team manager has
an important role to reduce obstacles in remote teamwork. This includes establish a policy
of work process within the team, provide reliable technical solutions for virtual
communication as well as training in technical skills, arrange scheduled meetings and
establish trust among team members (Ford et al., 2017, p. 26). Trust among team members
and leader can be achieved by scheduling regular informal meetings that encourage team
members to get to know each other on a deeper level and, if possible, arrange face-to-face
meetings (Larson et al., 2020). Team leaders and members presence and availability and
communication skills is of great importance. Team members should not have to wait for
answers and decisions which as a result will cause delays, dissatisfaction and might arise
conflicts. Important is also that goals are communicated clearly and the way to
accomplishment the goal set to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to conflicts or project
failure (Newman et al., 2020, p. 456).

2.3.2 Nature of Work

Nature of work can be categorized in two ways. Firstly, high level of dependency on other
team members work progress which often includes complex tasks that demands a high
frequency of interaction with other team members. Thus, this indicates close
communication and frequently meetings to accomplish the task, which can be perceived
difficult to manage in a remote team setting. A strategy used by companies is to, if possible,
address these issues to team members that are collocated to avoid inherited obstacles that
comes with remote teamwork (Olson & Olson, 2006, p. 101). Secondly, nature of work that
can be solved with less involvement from other participants in the team, such as routine
work should in opposite be addressed to dispersed team members (Olson & Olson, 2006, p.
101).

Bjørn et al. (2014, p. 18) disproves that remote work makes collaboration difficult. This
study focused on a huge research project that looked at global software development with
globally dispersed team members. The study also shows that closely related tasks lead to
enhanced collaboration. They noticed that tightly integrated work required regular
interactions between collaborators, driving them to get to know one another better, support
one another, and foster strong engagement despite their geographically dispersed locations.

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The reduced level of participation required for loosely connected work reduced the partners
commitment to the project.

Some companies choose extreme or radical collaboration setups in which teams operate in
a confined environment to maximize communication and facilitate the flow of information
for tightly connected tasks. Some organizations, on the other hand, limit participation for
professions with tenuous ties (Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p. 12). Establishing rules and
standards for communication among team members early in the team’s life cycle can
improve team performance by fostering more effective communication (Ford et al., 2017,
p. 28-29).

2.3.3 Explicit Management

Previous research has examined many approaches of leadership styles and concepts that can
be useful in management of remote teams. Established leadership theories have evolved
from the past to meet new challenges, especially since remote teamwork has become
widespread in organizations throughout the world and leadership is moving from being
mostly vertical to being more horizontal (Mayer et al., 2022, p. 102).

Effective leaders are able to, in a natural way, adopt different roles (leadership styles) in
different situations, they perceive others’ needs and can easily change their behavior to meet
those needs, therefore effective leadership can be defined as the competence to adjust
leadership approach when it is necessary, i.e., perform explicit management (Hooijberg,
1996, p. 919).

Explicit management is the active role a manager takes when solving or addressing a
conflict or situation instead of letting it resolve itself. The practice of explicit management
includes many strategies, from communicating clear goals and expectations to enhancing
collaboration and addressing conflicts in an early stage. There are many benefits of using
an explicit management approach, one noticeable advantage is that explicit management
reduces confusion and misunderstandings (Ford et al., 2017, p. 31). Practicing explicit
management require a leader that are open, including, flexible and a good listener. Explicit
management are often linked to time-limited projects that requires leaders with these traits
(Ford et al., 2017, p. 29).

Effective leadership in remote teams is difficult because maintaining quality relationships

over distance is more difficult. Inherent obstacles in remote work setting such as lack of
face-to-face meetings and regular site visits challenges the leadership (Brady & Prentice,
2019, p. 2-3). It is also more difficult to ensure that team members prioritize the team's task
in remote teams (DuBrin, 2018, p. 290). Scheduling regular meetings where team members
have the opportunity to exchange information with each other and discuss problems that
have arisen in the work improves the ability to monitor the work process and whether set
goals can be reached (DuBrin, 2018, p. 290). Furthermore, remote teams meets additional
challenges, recognizing and resolving cultural differences, ensuring that all team members
are heard, and managing resource, task allocation and team members interdependencies
(Ford et al., 2017, p. 33). Additional challenges such as temporal (different time zones) and
diverse language have been identified (Brady & Prentice, 2019, p. 2-3). By offering training,
clear communication, resources, mentorship, and team-building activities, a remote leader
can foster team cooperation (Ford et al., 2017, p. 33). The value of team management
increases when working on interrelated or complex tasks. Team members perceptions of the
effectiveness of their leaders use of various modes of communication can influence how
they evaluate the team as a whole. Those who have a positive opinion of the leadership, for
example, have a positive opinion of the performance (Newman et al., 2020, p. 456).

14
Additionally, Avolio et al. (2014, p. 113) argues that group members perceive management
performed by men and women differently.

Leadership has a significant impact on the level of trust inside a team. Previous research has
demonstrated that leaders may significantly increase team performance by fostering a sense
of fellowship among colleagues, resolving conflicts, and defining responsibilities within the
team (Wakefield et al., 2008, p. 436-437). Leader in remote teams has various tools to
overcome obstacles met, such as scheduling early face-to-face meetings, utilizing several
communication channels, and encouraging real-time information sharing. When leaders and
team members communicate often and, in both ways, remote team trust and engagement
increase (Ford et al., 2017, p. 31-32).

All cooperation within a team, whether it is remote work or work in a traditional

environment, is based on communication. In the study by Daim et al. (2012, p. 201) they
investigated the underlaying factors to communication breakdown and identified
interpersonal relations, trust, technology, different cultures and leadership to be the most
important areas. In traditional co-located work settings exchange of informal
communication comes naturally, for instance at lunchbreak, when waiting before meetings.
This informal information exchange makes it easier for colleagues to get to know each other
on a personal level and is critical for building trust among team members (Damian &
Zowghi, 2002, p. 5-6). In remote teamwork settings it is much harder to establish trust and
common goal through informal communication as the inherent obstacle that team members
are not face-to-face, comes from different cultures and have limited in-person relations.
Sharing knowledge within a team is crucial for team performance and project outcome.
Therefore, leaders in remote team must be aware of the importance to establish
communication strategies for successful team performance and avoiding communication
breakdowns (Daim et al., 2012, p. 203-204).

Different leadership styles have different effects on a remote workforce's productivity. In

this literature review we focused on four models of leadership: the transformational model,
the situational model, the empowering model, and the shared model. Transformational style
of leadership motivates employees to perform to the best of their abilities and includes
motivation, inspiring, individual care and intellectual stimulation. Transformational
leadership can boost productivity in remote teams (Sinclair et al., 2021, p. 295). On the
other hand, Hoch & Kozlowski (2014, p. 392) argues that transformational leadership is
suitable when managing work in traditional office environment but is not an efficient
approach in managing remote teams due to the inherent difficulty of communicating across
enormous distances. Hoch & Kozlowski (2014, p. 398) found that “the influence of
hierarchical leadership on team performance is weakened when teams are more virtual in
nature”. Their definition of hierarchical in their study is a composition of transformational
leadership, leader-member exchange and guidance (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014, p. 391).

According to situational leadership theory leaders should concentrate on relationship and

coaching within the team and less on decision-making. A situational leader let the members
participate in decision-making and only if needed the leader should give directions of how
to proceed in a certain situation. Rather than telling people what to do or which decision to
make the leader should sell in his ideas to the team so that everyone feel comfortable and
share the same opinion and goals (Tortorella & Fogliatto, 2017, p. 948-949).

Empowerment leadership involves giving team members responsibility and authority while
also making their work easier and making them feel valued. When team members function
under highly supportive leadership, their situational judgement improves, as do their remote
collaboration habits and, finally, their individual accomplishment. This approach to

15
leadership style can enhance team’s performance when its members are spread out over a
large area. On the other hand, if members of a team don’t have good situational judgment,
the team might not get the most out of its leaders power (Saleem et al., 2019, p. 305).

A common approach to leadership in remote teams is the shared leadership model. By

encouraging team members individual trust and autonomy leads to individual satisfaction.
Collective/shared leadership can be described as, when team members share responsibility
and revolve leadership in the group or in leading and guiding individual team members
(Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014, p. 393). Shared leadership might involve a few or all team
members in the group. Involving many people in leading and decision-making, not just one
authority leader, enhance individual confidence and a feeling of independence (Robert &
You 2018, p. 503-504). Robert and You (2018, p. 505) states in their article that team
climate is the shared perception of the team’s atmosphere, interpersonal relationships, and
generally accepted practices and procedures of working together. Shared leadership
promotes high collaboration between team members and is likely to enhance team climate
which in the end increases team performance (Robert & You 2018, p. 511). Thus, shared
leadership should be a supplement to hierarchical leadership in remote team depending on
situation and task to perform (Hoch & Kozlowski, 2014, p. 393).

Early research provides that transformational leadership style has a positive impact on
remote team performance. (Balthazard et al., 2009, p. 661-662). By inspiring and
motivating team members to attain collective goals and create a feeling of mutual
understanding among team members the transformational leadership style enables
development of trusting collaboration which is of high importance since remote teamwork
is difficult to manage in a traditional way, lacking face-to-face interactions (Mayer et al.,
2022, p. 93). Recent research provides that transformational leadership in remote teams has
limitations due to the need of face-to-face interaction that barely doesn’t exist in remote
teams. It is difficult to be acknowledged as a charismatic and inspirational leader, without
physical presence (Mayer et al., 2022, p. 93). To improve and enhance remote teamwork a
shared leadership model can be advantageous as Mayer et al. (2022, p. 93) states “It turns
out that overcoming the challenges of leading virtual teams remains difficult, especially as
long as leadership approaches imply that leadership responsibilities lie with one person.
The local distance can be bridged, for example, by having team members take on leadership
tasks on site that would otherwise fall to the manager, such as training a new team
member”.

2.3.4 Composition of Teams

Remote teams have a multiple set of challenges due to diversity in composition of the teams
themselves. When building a remote team, one should strive for a composition of team
members that has shared ideals, a culture of friendly competition and complimentary work
styles which all contribute to a cohesive team (Ford et al., 2017, p. 29).

Common ground can be described as team members sharing the same ideals and knowledge
(Cramton, 2001, p. 347). If members of a remote team have something in common (e.g.,
they have worked together in the past, share the same cultural practices, mental methods
etc.), they can cooperate more efficiently through technical means without having to
constantly clarify their meaning. The difficulties teams are experiencing can be
characterized as a problem of mutual knowledge. To ensure that everyone on the team is on
the same page, it is essential for members to communicate with each other and then confirm
that everyone has comprehended what was stated (Bjørn et al., 2014, p. 3). Shared mental
models is related to common ground. Schmidtke and Cummings (2017 p. 666) points out
five factors that affects the shared mental models especially in remote teamwork with high

16
degree of virtuality. These are technological factors, temporal differences, geographic
differences, environmental differences, and interpersonal factors, which all contributes to
an increase shared mental model complexity. As the complexity increases, the effectiveness
of teamwork, will likely decrease. It is important that the team members are given
opportunity of training in what is considered to be the accurate mental model to share within
the team so that everyone have similar behavior. Accuracy and similarity can mitigate the
negative impact of complexity on team behaviors (Schmidtke and Cummings, 2017, p. 671-
672).

Temporal stability is described by Hollenbeck et al. (2012, p. 84) as the degree to which
team members have a history of working together in the past and an expectation of working
together in the future. is particularly vital for the success of remote teams. Team
performance increase if the members are satisfied and has a sense of belonging, this will
stimulate learning, adapting, and performance, as a result strengthen temporal stability
(Schaubroeck & Yu, 2017, p. 639-640). The success of a remote team is also strongly
dependent on the extent to which its members share common goals. Due to this, team leaders
need to make sure that everyone is fully invested in the mission (Newman et al., 2020 p.
456). Studies have shown that it is harder for remote teams that is spread over the world to
establish a shared mental model since the risk for misunderstanding due to different
languages and cultures increases (Bjørn et al., 2014, p. 2). When the number of locations
grow it gets harder for remote teams to talk to each other and remember what their
teammates situations and limits are. This can hurt their ability to work together and perform
well. Local holidays, local processes, competing duties are examples of factors that can
hinder the collaboration. Lack of mutual knowledge can result in various distribution of
information as well as timing differences when information is distributed, both of which
can result in colleagues at different locations having different information and, as a result,
difficult to resolve misunderstandings (Cramton, 2001, p. 347).

2.3.5 Cultural Diveristy

As described in previous chapter, essential for success in team performance is that remote
team establishes shared knowledge (Bjørn et al., 2014, p. 3). To reach common ground,
cultural and organizational differences between team members must be bridged. Culture can
be defined as “everything that a group has learned as it has evolved” as well as “accumulated
shared learning” (Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 5). Hardin et al. (2007, s. 131) says, “One
advantage of virtual teams is their ability to bring multiple perspectives to bear on a
problem”. Remote team must address cultural diversities to enhance team performance.
Team members multiple identities (cultural diversity) can be categorized in, for example
nationality, work experience, personal interests, their client, their organization, and their
team(s) (Eisenberg & Mattarelli, 2017, p. 399). Additionally, cultural diversity can be
shown as team members differences in values, norms, attitudes, customs, traditions, and
habits (Cheng et al., 2016, p. 268). Organizational culture plays a significant role in shaping
employee interactions and can impact conflicts in remote teams (Garro-Abarca et al., 2021,
p. 627). Even if all team members speak the same language, cultural differences can lead to
misunderstandings and unconscious insults (DuBrin, 2018, p. 398). DuBrin, (2018, p. 399),
presents a range of mistakes that can be avoided if you are familiar with unique cultural
behavior in different countries, for instance, don’t ask personal questions to a British they
protect their privacy and common for all Asian Countries, you should not pressure an Asian
team member to brag about his or her accomplishments. Asians feel self-conscious when
boasting about individual accomplishment and prefer to let the record speak for itself
(DuBrin, 2018, p. 399). In Asian culture group performance is valued more than individual
performance. To avoid these problems from getting worse, it is also suggested that basic

17
cultural awareness and language training be given at the start of every project (DuBrin,
2018, p. 398).

Remote teams are more likely to have a diverse range of cultural backgrounds than
traditional teams. As said before it is most important to establish a group dynamic that
encourages a common ground and trust inside the team. Cultural differences can manifest
themselves in numerous ways, including the manner in which individuals interact with each
other and how they share knowledge. When team members feels that they are “outside” they
may not make any effort to communicate and share knowledge with other team members,
which further on will reduce team performance (Eisenberg & Mattarelli, 2017, p. 402).

Another interesting view of analyzing effectiveness in team performance, in the context of

culturally diverse teams, is to study individualism and collectivism. Hardin et al. (2007, p.
136) says that the individualistic-collectivist dimensions makes some cultures more open to
working in remote locations than others, this is because of how they feel about their own
self-efficacy when it comes to remote cooperation.

Organizational Culture can be arranged in different levels, some of them visible and some
of them invisible. These levels can be categorized in three levels, such as artifacts, espoused
beliefs and values and finally basic underlaying assumptions (Schein & Schein, 2017, p.
18). The first visible level, the artifacts, can be described as things that are perceptible to
the senses of the observer which means that you can see, feel, and hear the artifacts. Even
if the artifacts usually are very accessible to the observer, these phenomena can be difficult
to interpret. In principle you need to go deeper below the surface to the espoused believes
and values in order to understand the artifacts. Examples of artifacts are the physical
environment, the clothing style of the employees, published values (i.e. the company’s
published code of conduct), observable rituals, and the prevailing language (Schein &
Schein, 2017, p. 17).

The second level of organizational culture can be described as advocated beliefs and values.
This means values that influence the behavior of the organization's members. These values
are often clearly stated by management within the organization, for example via governing
documents. They also contain moral and ethical guidelines so that employees know how to
behave in a certain type of situation (Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 19-21). Toyota philosophy
is a well-known example of this kind of governing document where Toyota in writing
explains their organizational culture based on various principles (Toyota, 2023). Group
learning is a reflection of someone's original beliefs and values (Schein & Schein, 2017, p.
19). For instance, some type of leader inside the company says how a given problem must
be solved by certain specific actions. If a certain solution or process turn out to be successful
on repeated occasions, the values and beliefs that were the basis for managing will gradually
be transformed into stated values that are shared by the employees and unconsciously taken
for granted. Leaders have an important role in maintaining and strengthening the common
values and norms that underlie the given corporate culture (Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 21-
25).

The third level, Culture in the context of basic assumptions can be explained as a mental
map that leads us in the way to interact with others and how to behave in different situations,
if we can read and understand that map we will feel comfortable inside a group where other
members share the same assumptions. In opposite, failure to understand what other team
members takes for granted might lead to misunderstandings and eventually to conflicts
(Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 22).

18
There may be fewer problems between coworkers of diverse cultural and national
backgrounds who shares work culture, rather than between coworkers of the same cultural
and national background who work for very different organizations (Garro-Abarca et al.,
2021, p. 627). Misconceptions regarding processes and knowledge, institutional
bureaucracy, differences among team members, unrealistic expectations of shared goals and
performance, and competing or conflicting priorities can all contribute to the failure of a
remote team (Cundill et al., 2019, p. 3). For instance, power imbalances can create systemic
obstacles that must be resolved explicitly, you cannot rely on a perfect process design to
solve the problems. Diversity in the workplace can lead to new ideas, a greater range of
skills and the sharing of best practices, but it can also lead to misunderstandings and
frustration among co-workers. Working across distance makes it harder to communicate a
specific work culture (Cundill et al., 2019, p. 4). For example, if one employee is
accustomed to a more cooperative work environment than another, disagreements may
arise. Employees in teams or organizations that prioritize competition over cooperation are
less likely to teach one another new skills. On the other hand, cooperation-friendly societies
make it easier for people to share knowledge and support one another (Tjosvold et al., 2006,
p. 247).

Numerous studies have investigated the impact on team performance due to differences in
team members and managers experiences of diversity in culture. Widely remote teams with
multi-cultural diversity faces more challenges than remote teams with a homogeneous
culture. Thus, these multi-cultural teams are more likely to have a higher level of team
performance if managed effectively (McDonough et al., 2001, p. 110-111). There is a lack
in experience in many organizations of managing remote teams effectively which encourage
to further research (McDonough et al., 2001, p. 118).

Unique challenges and the nature of conflicts presented, affects teams working remote. How
to effectively address and resolve conflicts within a remote team will be presented in the
following sub-chapter.

2.4 CONFLICT RESOLUTION RESEARCH

The study of conflict resolution in remote teams has a large impact in company
management. Companies are increasingly adopting remote work in today's fast changing
business landscape to enhance productivity, cut expenses, and access a larger pool of talent.
However, the transition to remote work can create additional obstacles, notably in resolving
disagreements among team members. Effective conflict resolution is critical to the success
of remote teams and the companies for which they work (O’Neill et al., 2016, p. 997).

Conflict resolution research is concerned with identifying and analyzing the nature of
conflicts and developing effective resolution methods that address the underlying causes of
the conflicts. Remote teams work in a different setting than typical teams and face a range
of unique issues that may impact conflict resolution. Among the obstacles include
difficulties in establishing and sustaining relationships and trust among team members,
communication issues, cultural and time zone variations, feelings of isolation, a lack of
physical connection, and feelings of loneliness (Larson et al., 2020). To effectively address
disagreements, remote teams must first understand the particular problems they face.
Conflicts in teamwork are not always a disadvantage, conflicts can lead to improvements as
well, for example new perspectives, new solution to the task in question and better team
cohesion (Eunson, 2011, p. 3). Opposite, if conflicts are not addressed and resolved, as a
result, productivity suffers, job quality suffers, and deadlines are missed. Working in remote
teams have disadvantages, for example, no interpersonal connections, lack of

19
communication skills, not knowing other team members experiences, differences between
team members culture, systems and processes might lead to conflicts (Morley et al., 2015,
p. 194). In the study of Yin et al. (2022, p. 2) they state “Effective conflict management is
able to improve team performance and cohesion, while ineffective conflict management
leads to ineffective behavior and lower team productivity. Team leaders are the key and
foremost player in remote R&D teams since 45% to 65% of the variance in organizational
success or failure is determined by them”. They show that developing effective conflict
resolution strategies are a key factor in improving team performance and productivity.
Further, this statement shows that the more complex the task is, the need for effective
conflict management increases.

Depending on the nature of conflict different methods for conflict resolution can be used,
arbitration, negotiation, and mediation. Arbitration refers to when a neutral third-party
makes a decision after hearing proofs and arguments from each part involved in the conflict
(Goltsman et al., 2009, p. 1398). Negotiation is a method where parties strive to reach a
mutually satisfaction, often by seeking to identify shared interests and goals, while
mediation involves the engagement of a neutral third party who assists in facilitating
communication and negotiation between the parties involved, with the goal of achieving a
mutually beneficial outcome. Mediation is particularly effective in situations where
communication breakdown or power imbalances are hindering conflict resolution efforts
(DuBrin, 2018, p. 402-407).

Team leaders’ choice of approaching conflicts and their roll in conflict management is
crucial for team success or failure (Yin et al., 2022, p. 2). Leaders who encourage
discussions for solutions in the team will create a psychological safe climate where the
members will feel safe to communicate openly without being afraid for punishment,
neglecting or harassments. On the opposite leaders who openly show that they do not
tolerate others not thinking like themselves will make the team insecure and members afraid
of expressing their actual thoughts which is not a conductive way to create team
psychological safety (Yin et al., 2022, p. 4).

Five different conflict management approaches that has been identified by previous
research, Competing, collaborating, accommodating, avoiding, and compromising. The
way of handling conflicts depends on degree of self-interest, whether a person wants to
satisfy his own interests and goals or takes into account those of others (Rahim, 1986, p.
369).

Table 1. Model of the five different conflict management approaches.

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Competing is an assertive, uncooperative, and power-centered conflict management style.
When using this style, the individual tries to satisfy his own needs at the expense of the
other party. All power that can be used is used. The individual stands up for what he
considers right or just wants to win. Thomas & Kilmann (1974) cites in Jones (1976, p. 250)
article, “I am firm in pursuing my goals” as an example expression of a competing style.

Accommodating is the opposite of competing, this style is an unassertive but cooperative

conflict management style. This style involves a lot of self-sacrifice where the individual
ignores his own needs to accommodate the other party's. Thomas & Kilmann (1974) cites
in Jones (1976, p. 250) article, “If it makes the other person happy, I might let him maintain
his views” as an example expression of an accommodating style.

Avoidance is unassertive and uncooperative style, where the individual prefers to neglect
the conflict and refuses to address or bypass the problem. In this case the conflict is hidden
and might pop up later unsolved, or in best case for avoidance style the conflict will
disappears in time. Thomas & Kilmann (1974) cites in Jones (1976, p. 250) article, “I feel
that differences are not always worth worrying about” as an example expression of an
avoidance style.

Collaboration is both assertive and cooperative conflict management style and the opposite
of avoidance. When using this style, the individual tries to find a solution that appeals to
both parties. This means that the parties must get to the bottom of the problem. Thomas &
Kilmann (1974) cites in Jones (1976, p. 250) article, “I tell him my ideas and ask him for
his” as an example expression of a collaboration style.

Compromising is a middle ground between assertiveness and cooperativeness. By this style

the individual tries to find a solution that partially satisfies both parties. Compromise is
found in the middle of the other conflict management styles. Thomas & Kilmann (1974)
cites in Jones (1976, p. 250) article, “I try to find a fair combination of gains and losses for
both of us” as an example expression of a compromising style.

For the last decades the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) has frequently
been used to help organizations understand how different conflict styles affect individual
team members as well as team dynamics. The TKI tool consists of 30 items to respond, the
items are scored, and by using this tool one can deduct from the result which of the five
conflict-handling styles a person tend to use often and which modes they use less frequently
(Shaubhut, 2007, p. 1). It is obvious that leadership behavior is not a stable, static, or
dogmatic process. Which approach to conflict management style to adopt is a dynamic
process, thus different situations would require different leader behavior (Slabbert, 2004, p.
85).

Previous research by Tjosvold et al. (2006, p. 233), points out two different types of conflict,
task-related and relation-related conflicts and two different approaches for conflict
resolution, cooperative approach, and competitive approach. The study was conducted in
China and examined the relationship between the two types of conflicts and the different
conflict resolution approach and its importance for successful teamwork (Tjosvold et al.,
2006, p. 231-232). The study showed that task-related conflicts correlated to competition
and negatively to cooperation. Relation-related conflicts also correlated with competition,
meaning that managers should use a cooperative approach to conflict resolution for a
efficient team management (Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 247).

21
Approaching conflicts in a cooperative way reduce problems and hostility in conflict
resolution and promotes communication where everyone in the team are encouraged to
express their thoughts and feelings. This makes the individuals feel integrated and accepted
and enhance trust among team members. The conflict becomes a minor issue as they come
to rely on each other's motivation and competence and the conflict can be resolved in a
constructive way (Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 246).

Competitive team members are convinced that their way of solving the problem is correct
and they become more frustrated and aggressive when they don't get their way and starts
questioning other team members motives, skills, and honesty. The issue about which the
conflict is concerned tends to be magnified by approaching conflicts in a competitive way
(Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 235).

Wakefield et al. (2008, p. 438) identifies three different types of conflicts, task conflict
(when team members don’t understand or disagree on what activities is needed to reach
team goals), process conflict (when team members have different opinions on the methods
and processes needed to complete activities), and finally relational conflict (when people
do not consider or have little or no understanding for others because of different culture and
norms).

Approaching conflicts in a cooperative or competitive way depends on conflict type but can
also depend upon whether the conflict is perceived by team members as relational- or task-
related (Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 235). A cooperative approach to effective conflict
management results in a win-win situation for both parties. In cooperation, team members
have the perception that if they reach their own goals, others in the team will benefit from
this progress and move towards reaching their goals. Opposite, using a competitive
approach in a conflict situation, people with a competitive approach promote their goals at
the expense of other team members goals. Evidence from previous studies shows that using
a cooperative approach in conflict situations is more likely to succeed in resolve conflicts
that arise. Cooperative management creates qualitative solutions to problems and enhance
trust within the team that they can work together effectively. Opposite the competitive
approach to conflict resolution often results in a win-lose situation where one party feels
disadvantaged and relationships in the team are damaged which in the end leads to
ineffective teamwork (Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 233-234). In practice Tjosvold et al., (2006,
p. 247) recommends that “Training sessions could orient the team towards cooperative
conflict and the related skills of the self-expression, perspective-taking, and creative
problemsolving requirements of cooperative conflict”.

2.5 SUMMARY
To summarize the theoretical framework, Conflict resolution research in the context of
remote teams is crucial for effective team management. Remote work adoption is growing,
but it can create unique challenges in resolving conflicts among team members. Conflict
resolution research focuses on understanding the nature of conflicts, developing effective
resolution methods, and recognizing the role of leaders in creating a shared mental model
within the group. Different conflict management approaches, such as competing,
collaborating, accommodating, avoiding, and compromising, depend on factors like self-
interest and the type of conflict. Effective conflict resolution methods like negotiation and
mediation must be tailored to the specific conflict. Cooperative conflict management fosters
trust and collaboration, while competitive approaches can magnify conflicts. Understanding
and addressing these dynamics are essential for the success of remote teams and
organizations.

22
Shared mental models, common ground, team spirit, shared knowledge, all these
expressions refer to the same, to build trust within a team. In an open team climate where
team members feel safe and respect each other, no matter differences between them, such
as in cultural, national, experiences, values, norms, age, gender, etc., trust can be built. The
leaders’ role in building trust within a team can’t be overstated, an effective leader should
have a range of knowledge and attributes to be able to adopt different leadership styles as
the situation requires. In some situations, it might be better for team performance to share
the responsibilities and decision-making among some or all team members, so called shared
leadership. Trust in a team will enhance the willingness from members to participate
actively in communication and collaboration to achieve set goals and resolve conflicts that
arise in personal relations, or within the group.

It is important to address conflicts and comprehend the underlaying causes of the same.
Depending on the nature of conflict, such as task-, process- or relational conflict, different
styles of approaching and resolution methods can be used. Approaching a conflict in a
cooperative way has been proved to generate best outcome in team performance which
benefits the entire organization and leads to better results and higher profits. Collaboration
and compromising conflict resolution methods are linked to cooperative approaching style.
Whereas solving conflict by collaboration seems to be the ultimate resolution method,
avoiding conflicts on the other hand, must be the worse alternative, since the conflict might
grow and, in the extension, lead to worse problems. Using a competitive approach to
conflicts, often results in some part will feel like a looser and team trust is hurt which leads
to inefficient team performance. Depending on the nature and complexity of the conflict
and parts involved, a competing resolution method is though not always a disadvantage,
sometimes a leader is forced to make a decision on their own without negotiating and
mediating, for example when it is impossible to reach consensus or time limits require quick
decisions. If the conflict concerns issues of minor value for impact on team performance,
the accommodating resolution method might be a possible choice.

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 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, we introduce the scientific methodological decisions guiding this study. The
chapter starts with a presentation of our initial pre-understandings, followed by an
exploration of our ontological and epistemological perspectives. We then discuss the chosen
research approach, literature search, and design. Following the scientific method part will
the authors present an overview of the qualitative data collection process, our sampling
methodology, and the criteria we used for the study. Furthermore, we discuss the
development of the interview guide and process, followed by the data analysis method.
Lastly, the authors present the ethical considerations that were made conducting the study.

3.1 PRE-UNDERSTANDINGS
The definition of pre-understanding or preconceptions refers to previous experiences,
knowledge and understanding of a subject (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 29-30). The authors
pre-understandings for a subject are important to bring light on as previous experiences,
knowledge and understandings affects the research process (Bryman & Bell, 2015, p. 40-
43). In order to avoid preconceptions, it is important in research that the authors try to
remain as objective as possible to avoid biases in the results (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 414).

According to Johansson-Lindfors (1993, p. 76) can preconceptions be divided into primary-

and secondary preconceptions. Primary preconceptions refer to the knowledge authors have
gathered through previous studies in the field (Johansson-Lindfors, 1993, p. 76). The core
of the primary preconceptions of the authors originates from previous studies at Umeå
University in the field of management. The studied management field includes business
management, innovation management, leadership and organization theory as well as project
management. Our academic background shed light on the importance of effective leaders
and their practices of managing a team to perform a task. The researchers have not directly
studied conflicts and conflict management but believe that avoiding or resolving conflicts
often are related to different leadership styles, hence our choice of research subject to
expand our knowledge in the field.

Johansson-Lindfors (1993, p. 76) argues that secondary preconceptions refer to the

knowledge of a subject that authors gained based on the personal interest in a research topic,
which might affect the results of a study. Both researchers have previously worked in remote
teams and has the view of managing conflicts from a remote team employee’s perspective.
We consider ourselves to have quite a good understanding of remote teams and how
conflicts are handled. The advantage of having a pre-understanding of conflict management
is an easier and faster understanding of the subject reading literature. Although,
preconceptions of a subject can also be a disadvantage as it can prevent further exploration
of a subject which enriches a study (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 151). In addition, one of the
researchers have close relatives that have experience from management and team
management in large global companies. These have formed the basis for the development
of interest and may influence the pre-understandings of the subject team- and conflict
management.

3.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

Research philosophy refers to knowledge development and its nature. Research philosophy
includes researchers’ assumptions of how they view of the world (Saunders et al., 2009, p.
107). The researchers’ assumptions and how they view the world, and the nature of
knowledge will affect every angle of the study, and for that reason it’s crucial for the authors
to reflect upon their own assumptions and beliefs, as you would do for others (Saunders et

24
al., 2019, p. 159). In the section below will the authors clarify which philosophical
assumptions they have when conducting this study.

3.2.1 Ontology
Ontological assumptions is a part of research philosophy that studies definitions and nature
of reality (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 110). Objectivism and subjectivism (constructionism)
are the two main positions of the ontology (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 22). Following section
will discuss these.

Taking an objective stance for this study would demand the researchers to see reality as
measurable objects and independent of social actors (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 22). In social
sciences an objective stance isn’t common. It is far more common in experiment and natural
research where results and findings doesn’t get affected by the researchers’ biases and
perceptions (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 113). An objective stance wouldn’t be appropriate for
this study because of the study’s exploratory nature of understanding conflict management
as a social phenomenon. Opposite from objectivism you have on the other hand subjectivism
as a viewpoint which suits this study far more. The subjective stance views reality as a
dynamic process that is continuously influenced by social actors. The subjective stance
accepts individuals’ different realities which causes individuals to view the same
phenomenon in different ways and appreciate it by different level of degrees (Saunders et
al., 2009, p. 111). The researchers’ studies humans, social actors, and their interaction in
this study which makes a subjective stance appropriate. Maylor & Blackmon (2005, p. 156)
also suggests that a subjective stance is the most suitable viewpoint for research within the
management sector.

In this study, the concept of social reality is subjective, influenced by the unique
perspectives of remote team managers and members, each shaping their own sense of
reality. Accordingly, we adopt subjectivism, an approach that focuses on grasping the
interpretations individuals assign to social phenomena, which originates from their
perceptions and subsequent behaviors. This choice aligns with the common preference
within qualitative research (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 47). We also adopt subjectivism in
our study, as it best serves our purpose, to gain deeper understandings into conflict
resolution within remote teams.

3.2.2 Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, explaining how we know what we know.

Epistemological assumptions also sets a foundation for what kind of knowledge that are
possible and legitimate (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 112). This study will use a epistemological
view with a interpretivist approach as it’s the most suitable. The other positions within
epistemology are positivism, realism, and pragmatism. Below will the authors discuss
positivism and interpretivism, and why an interpretivist approach is the most suitable for
this study.

Positivism refers to the use of scientific methods to understand the social reality (Bryman
& Bell, 2015, p. 26). Collis and Hussey (2014, p. 47) argue that positivists claim that
knowledge is limited to phenomena that are observable and quantifiable. Bryman and Bell
(2015, p. 28) argue that positivism implies that knowledge is limited to phenomena verified
through sensory perception. Furthermore, positivism aims to formulate testable hypotheses
which makes the positivist standpoint inappropriate for this study.

25
The researchers with an interpretivist approach have an epistemological assumption about
reality which means that reality is perceived differently by each individual, which
potentially can invalidate the research. An interpretivist approach is subjective, and the
researchers integrates with their research. Knowledge cannot simply be said to be true from
an outside perspective (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 116). Since the researchers of this study
will integrate directly with the research subjects, it is fitting to conduct the study within the
interpretivism paradigm. Saunders et al. (2009, p. 116) also suggests an interpretivist
approach whilst researching the social phenomena of management.

The epistemological assumption with an interpretivist approach fits when conducting a

qualitative study since researchers try to get as close as possible to the participants being
studied. Therefore, subjective experiences are assembled based on individual views. This is
how knowledge is known through the subjective experiences of people (Saunders et al.,
2019, p. 179).

In this context, the interpretivism paradigm appears to be the most suitable, as it recognizes
the importance of subjective experiences and perceptions in developing conflict
management strategies. The research question aims to explore the challenges and
underlying causes of conflicts in remote teams and how to manage them, hence it becomes
crucial to acknowledge the possibility of personal biases to influence the findings.
Although, as the authors are aware of their possible biases to management, the authors
transcribing, and analyzation of the data will be extra careful to avoid interpreting and make
own assumptions of the respondents’ answers.

3.3 RESEARCH APPROACH

Research approach defines the foundation of how conclusions are drawn. The two main
ways of how conclusions are drawn are through a deductive or inductive approach. The
deductive approach works from a “top-down” approach, meaning that it goes from general
to the more specific. The deductive approach is based on logic and a conclusion has to be
drawn from previous argued statements which implies for a conclusion (Cooper &
Schindler, 2014, p. 67). The argument above suggests that a deductive approach is more
appropriate for a quantitative study, where a hypothesis is made which is then tested to
confirm the hypothesis (Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p. 67).

An inductive approach on the other hand is based on empirical evidence. The inductive
approach is more open-ended and exploratory which starts with specific observation to find
patterns and then come to a conclusion (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 20). For this study an
inductive approach is appropriate in contrast to a deductive as the study proceeds from a
"bottom-up" approach, meaning that theory created based on the result of a research. The
purpose of an inductive approach is to understand a phenomenon based on the
understanding of the collected data (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 7). In this study, we want to
deepen our understandings of conflict management in remote teams by collecting primary
data through interviews, then analyze the data to find emerging patterns to create a “theory”
(Bryman & Bell, 2015, p. 13). Furthermore, according to Saunders et al. (2009, p. 127) is
the inductive side of the research approach suitable for subjects that are new, in debate and
when existing knowledge are scarce. The empirical observations will be provided through
observations from the interviews, analysis of the findings and theory construction (Ghauri
& Grønhaug, 2010, p. 16). The inductive approach is the logical approach based on the
purpose of this study which is to address conflict management in remote teams. Lastly,
inductive approaches to research are often linked to qualitative methods of studies which
will be discussed in the section 3.5.

26
3.4 LITERATURE SEARCH & SOURCE CRITISIM

The literature search is the foundation of the developing a theoretical framework for a study.
According to Collis and Hussey (2014, p. 77) is it crucial that the theoretical framework
reflects the current state of existing knowledge in relation to the purpose of the study. The
aim of literature search is reviewing existing literature to find out what theories and methods
that is already discovered and previously been tested for a chosen subject (Bryman & Bell,
2015, p. 9).

Working in remote teams are a phenomenon that existed for some decades, although the
adoption of remote teams has accelerated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the
limited time frame for the research project, it is of big importance to direct the literature
search for the purpose of the study. When pointing a literature review, Baker (2016, p. 266)
argues for the three guidelines to follow, which are, prioritize studies produced by leading
authorities, studies that is done most recently i.e., five years or less, and the studies aligning
closest to your own work. In line with Baker (2016, p. 266), the researchers have chosen to
focus on reviewing recently published studies with elements of old seminal studies.
Although, as the literature preferably should be up to date it is of big importance to include
old seminal studies in a research project (Baker, 2016, p. 266).

Schaefer and Alvesson (2020, p, 35) emphasizes to importance of credibility of the sources
used in a study, they distinguish an authority and a source. Schaefer & Alvesson (2020, p,
35) argues that an authority is evidence of a phenomenon that an author has to uncritically
accept. Sources on the other hand are crucial to critically review and are described by Collis
& Hussey (2014, p. 59) as primary and secondary. Articles gathered and used in the study
are peer-reviewed. Collis and Hussey (2014, p. 59) defines a primary source as information
that are discovered during a study that have not previously been discovered, for example a
recording, an oral speech or interview. This study sought to use primary sources like original
books over secondary sources as they have been interpreted by researchers’ biases (Collis
& Hussey, 2014, p. 59). Access to primary literature is limited though, which resulted that
the researchers had to utilize secondary sources as well in the study. Secondary sources
originate from already collected data and can constitute of for example, edited books,
articles, and reviews (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 59). The literature search for secondary and
primary data for this study have been done using databases, such as Business Source
Premier (EBSCO), Google Scholar, Umeå University Library. In addition to these databases
physical books, “Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills” by Dubrin along with
others were borrowed from the library at Umeå University.

An additional criteria of a comprehensive literature search is the identification of search

words. Winchester and Salji (2016, p. 309) argues the importance to align the search words
to the purpose of the study because the search words will direct the literature. The literature
search process for this study has been done by a general to a more specific approach,
meaning the search words were general and broad in the beginning to develop into including
specific search words (Collis & Hussey, 2014, p. 78). Below is a table of the search words
used in this study to develop the theoretical framework.

27
Table 2. Key search words
General search words Specific search words
Remote teams, virtual teams, virtual Distance, explicit management, nature of
leadership, remote/virtual management, remote work, conflict mitigation, remote
team management, effective team team collaboration, remote team
management, conflict management, challenges
conflict resolution, conflict resolution
strategies

3.5 RESEARCH DESIGN

This study followed a qualitative design. The qualitative research design selected for this
study on conflict management in remote teams is appropriate because it allows for a more
comprehensive understanding of the research topic. Conflict management in remote teams
is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires an in-depth examination of qualitative
aspects. The qualitative methods allowed for a deeper understanding of the underlying
reasons for conflict and the most effective conflict resolution strategies in remote teams
(Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 386). Moreover, the qualitative approach provided a richer and
more nuanced understanding of the research topic, enabling the researcher to gain insights
that may not be possible by using method such as the quantitative design (Saunders et al.,
2019, p. 180). A qualitative research design also goes hand in hand with constructionism
and interpretivism (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 386). Our interpretivist standpoint and
epistemological assumptions makes a qualitative choice the best fit for this study as we
wanted to know how managers effectively tackle conflict management based on their
experiences. Therefore, the qualitative research design was appropriate for this study as it
allowed the researcher to address the research question comprehensively and provide
practical recommendations for managing conflicts in remote teams.

Quantitative research on the other hand looks to measure variables and numerical data to
test a hypothesis (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 178). The nature and purpose of this study, to in-
depth address “conflict management” which is a subjective issue, doesn’t suit a quantitative
design. The researchers seek in-depth reflection on the issue, which suits a qualitative
research design (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 386).

The choice of conducting interviews as the method of data collection was appropriate as it
provided an in-depth understanding of the experiences and perceptions of the participants
regarding the phenomenon under investigation (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 406).
Additionally, interviews allowed the researcher to gather rich and detailed data on the
participants' thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are difficult to capture with quantitative
methods.

3.6 DATA COLLECTION

There are two kinds of data that were used for this study, namely primary data, and
secondary data. This section will discuss the data collection methods.

Primary data is the kinds of data that are gathered and analyzed for the purpose of the study
(Maylor & Blackmon, 2005, p. 172). Primary data can be gathered different ways and the
choice for primary data depends on the purpose of the study and the research philosophy
position that the researchers take (O’Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015, p. 78). For quantitative
studies are surveys as primary data the preferred option because of the large sample that can
be gathered to test a hypothesis (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 151).

28
On the other hand, for qualitative studies the most appropriate data collection method based
on the positions within the constructivism and interpretivism paradigms are unstructured
and semi-structured interviews (O’Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015, p. 78). Semi-structured
interviews were chosen for this study to make sure cross comparability was possible
between the interviewees (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 473). Semi-structured interviews were
an appropriate method for collecting in-depth and rich qualitative data on the experiences
and perceptions of remote workers and managers regarding conflict management in remote
teams (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 467). Through the interviews, the study gained insights into
the challenges faced by remote teams and the effectiveness of current conflict management
strategies in resolving conflicts in remote teams and the different aspects of it. The method
allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of conflict management in remote teams,
the challenges faced, and the strategies adopted to address them. Additionally, since this
study is a balance between exploration and existing literature the researchers thought that
semi structured interviews would be the most suitable to answer the research question
(Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 467).

The research team conducted physical interviews as well as virtual interviews via Microsoft
teams with remote team members and managers. These tools are appropriate as they provide
a means for collecting rich qualitative data and allowing for in-depth exploration of the
research questions (O'Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015, p. 120). Physical interviews were
preferred for the study as you can observe the respondents’ reactions more in-depth.
Physical interviews were conducted with four of the participants. Physical interviews were
not possible for all the participants, namely for the geographical distance so virtual video
interviews was an appropriate complement for the remaining two participants.

Alongside primary data is secondary data also utilized in this study. Secondary data is data
researched and gathered by other sources than the researchers for the study (Maylor &
Blackmon, 2005, p. 172). For this study, books and peer-reviewed papers are the primary
sources of secondary data. O'Gorman & MacIntosh (2015, p. 79) state that secondary data
is a good complement to primary data and can be used to either contradict or support the
findings.

3.6.1 Sampling Procedure

The sample size was an essential aspect of this study as it determines the representativeness
of the findings (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 176-178). For this study on conflict management
in remote teams, the sample size was determined by the timeframe for the research project.
The non-probability sampling method suits qualitative research the most as this study has a
small number of participants in combination with being able to freely choose which
individual that fits the best for the purpose of the study (Saunders et. al, 2009, p. 237).
Within the non-probability sampling method was purposive sampling used to select the
sample of participants for this study. This sampling technique involved selecting
participants based on specific characteristics that are relevant to the research question based
on the researchers’ judgment (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 238; Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, p.
140). In this study the selection criteria were companies that have adopted remote
teamwork, and the sample was selected to ensure diversity in terms of company size,
industry, role, and level of experience working in remote teams. The researchers focused on
finding participants who had experienced conflicts within their remote work. An additional
criteria for the participants was that their work in the remote team had to be extensive, i.e.,
they had to work 75% or more of their time in remote teams.

29
In contrast to the purposive (non-probability) sampling method there is the random
(probability) sampling method. The random (probability) sampling method includes
random selection of participants in order to make generalizations for a designated group.
According to Marshall (1996, p. 522) is the probability sampling method only useful in
quantitative studies as the method seeks to generalize findings. The probability sampling
method does not lead to a deeper understanding of a subject and due to the fact, it does not
fit into a qualitative study, hence not an option for our study (Marshall, 1996, p. 523).

The use of purposive sampling was appropriate for this study as it allowed for the selection
of companies and participants that are relevant to the purpose of the study, which was to
address and provide conflict management strategies in remote teams. In addition, purposive
(non-probability) sampling was used due to the fact, that one of the researchers has personal
acquaintance with remote team managers and thus knows the characteristics and skills they
possess. By selecting companies and individuals that have adopted working in remote
teams, the study was able to capture the unique challenges of conflict management in remote
teams, which may not be present in traditional teams. Moreover, by selecting a diverse
sample i.e. company size, industry, role, and level of experience working in remote teams,
the study captured different perspectives and experiences of individuals that are working or
managing remote teams.

For this thesis, the purposive (non-probability) sampling approach allowed the study to
locate six participants, five males and one female, in five different organizations that met
the sample criteria for the research. The participants of the study were identified within the
production, insurance, and IT industry. One of the respondents also had previous experience
working in remote teams within the design industry. The companies identified and used in
the study are located in Sweden and have adopted remote teams in their organizations. The
participants in the study included two project managers, a general manager, a project
controller, and two remote team workers. The project managers were identified within the
IT industry, along with one of the remote team workers. The general manager and project
controller were identified in the production industry, and the last remote worker was located
in the insurance industry. The selected participants had direct involvement with remote
teams, which made them vital in answering the research questions to get a deeper
understanding of conflicts and conflict management in remote teams.

3.6.2 Sample Size

The study aimed to recruit a diverse and representative sample of remote workers and
managers from Swedish companies that have adopted remote work. The selection of
participants was based on their experience working in remote teams, with a focus on those
who have encountered conflicts in their work.

Six participants were recruited for semi-structured interviews to provide in-depth insights
into conflict management in remote teams. The participants comprised managers and
employees with experience working in remote teams. Four of the respondents were
scheduled for face-to-face interviews in their offices in Umeå. The other two respondents
were scheduled for virtual interviews through Microsoft Teams, because of their large
geographical distance from the researchers.

It can be argued that the time-horizon for this research project limits the number of
participants which potentially can affect the credibility of the study (Bryman & Bell, 2011,
p. 188). According to Maylor & Blackmon (2005, p. 246) is eight participants appropriate
for a qualitative multiple participant study to make the findings generalizable. Given the
timeframe for the research project six participants were chosen.

30
Table 3: Sample size and selection process
Data collection Participants Sample Selection process
method size
Semi- 4 Managers and 2 6 Purposeful sampling based on company
structured remote team workers participants size, industry, role, and level of experience
interviews working in remote teams.

3.7 INTERVIEW GUIDE

The interview guide was primarily designed to answer the research question. The semi-
structured design with open-ended questions, as demonstrated in Appendix 1, were used to
allow the participants to freely express their thoughts and reflections upon the subject. An
open-ended approach to the interview guide also created a framework for the thematic
analysis. According to Bryman & Bell (2011, p. 472) is it important to preemptively plan
for the analysis of the findings before conducting the study. The questions within the
interview guide were created within the theoretical framework of this study, which the
authors created from their understanding of the subject.

The interview guide was divided into five themes a), b), c), d) and e) to answer the research
question and the aspects of it. The first theme is Distance (a) where the respondents freely
could express their thoughts on how distance have impacted conflict and conflict
management in remote teams. Explicit management (b) is the second theme with the purpose
to find out how the respondents approached management in remote teams and what role
explicit management have in the context. The third theme, organizational culture (c), was
included as it also links to the theoretical framework and to get an understanding of how
organizational culture leads to culture from the experiences of the respondents. Nature of
work (d) was the fourth aspect of the interview guide where the researchers wanted to
explore how nature of work interacts with conflict and conflict management. Lastly, the
theme of Collaboration and communication (e) were explored. This theme addressed the
main issue of how the respondent balance the need for collaboration and communication in
a remote teamwork setting.

3.8 INTERVIEW PROCESS

The interview process started with scheduling a time and date for the interviews as well as
the method how the interview should be conducted. Two of the respondents were scheduled
for a virtual interview because of their large geographical distance from the researchers. The
other four were scheduled for face-to-face interviews in their offices in Umeå. Emails were
sent in advance where the respondents had to give their consent to participate in the study.
The researchers sent the interview guide in advance to all respondents to ensure that they
were prepared for the questions that would be asked during the interview. The interviews
then began with the researchers introducing their academic background and the purpose of
the study. The design for the interviews was semi-structured where the researchers followed
their interview-guide throughout the interviews. The questions within the themes explicit
management and organizational culture were considered hard to answer by the respondents
but it eventually worked out with additional explaining of the issue.

The researchers recorded the interviews with the consent of the participant. Recording was
used to facilitate transcription. The interviews varied between respondents in terms of
duration and lasted approximately 40 to 55 minutes. In addition to the recordings, one of
the researchers wrote down notes of the respondents’ answers during the interview. This
was done in order to facilitate further discussion on the themes to improve the quality of the
interviews.

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3.9 DATA ANALYSIS
The data analysis started with transcription of the interviews conducted during the study.
Codifying followed the transcriptions of the interviews. Codification of the transcriptions is
a process where the researchers break down the textual parts and refines the transcriptions
(O'Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015, p. 140). The transcriptions were independently reviewed
by both researchers to increase credibility of the findings. Early stages of the analysis
process involved dividing answers that answered more than one question to their
appropriate place. Similar answers were also grouped together.

Thematic analysis is an appropriate method for analyzing the data collected from the semi-
structured interviews because it allowed for a more in-depth exploration of the data to
uncover the underlying causes, manifestations, and resolution strategies of conflicts in
remote teams (Braun and Clarke, 2006, p. 79). Furthermore, the thematic analysis was an
appropriate data analysis strategy for our study of conflict management in remote teams
because, one, a thematic analysis encourages researchers to consider the contextual factors
that influence conflict management, such as cultural differences, time zone disparities, and
communication challenges. This contextual understanding is important for developing
effective conflict resolution strategies that suits remote team dynamics. In addition, the
thematic analysis helped to identify the dimensions of interpersonal conflicts, task-related
conflicts, and team dynamics within a remote team providing a holistic view of how
conflicts are experienced and managed. Lastly, the thematic analysis involved an iterative
process of data coding and theme development. This iterative nature enabled researchers to
refine their understanding of conflict management in remote teams as they progress through
the analysis, ensuring that all relevant themes are explored and documented (Braun &
Clarke, 2006, s. 79). Lastly, the thematic analysis strategy has an inductive approach since
it is from the findings of the study, relationships and themes can be drawn (Braun & Clarke,
2006, p. 78). This provides a deeper understanding of the challenges and strategies related
to managing conflicts in remote teams.

The thematic analysis process has followed the 6-step approach developed by Braun &
Clarke (2006, p. 87). These steps include familiarization with the data, coding, generating
themes, reviewing themes, defining, and naming themes and report. This 6-step model for
the thematic analysis the researchers adopted will be discussed further.

The first step involved the researchers familiarizing themselves with the data (Braun &
Clarke, 2006, p. 89). The data familiarizing was carried out during both data collection i.e.,
the interviews, and transcription, which involved repeated listening and reading of the
recordings and notes. The researchers emphasized careful re-listening to get a
comprehensive understanding of the subject. The second step involved the generation of
initial codes. This step reveals emerging themes, relations to existing theories and identify
repetitions and discrepancies by systematically organize data into smaller manageable
segments (O'Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015, p. 140).

Moving on to the third step, the initially coded data was further categorized into larger
themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 89). This step involved consolidating different codes into
more specific themes, leading to the discovery of recurring themes and differences between
respondents. During the consolidating of the codes, the researchers got a sense of themes
that would be of significance for the purpose of the study.

The fourth step of the thematic analysis were to review and refine the themes that the
researchers identified in the previous step. The theme review was done with 5 questions the

32
researchers applied. They were: One, “Do the themes make sense?”. Two, “Does the data
support the identified themes?”. Three, “Is the theme too broad or narrow?”. Four, “Are
there themes within themes i.e. subthemes?”. Lastly, five, “Are we missing any themes?”.
Step four were essential for this study as the researchers seek to understand the themes in
relation to the research purpose (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 93).

Step five included defining and naming the identified themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 92).
The naming process was important to the study, as accurate names of the themes help the
reader gain a better understanding of the subject. The authors initially grouped the data
based on the interview questions. The data was categorized into themes informed by the
theoretical framework, resulting in five primary themes: Interpersonal connections, trust,
communication, collaboration, and compromise.

The sixth and final step in the thematic analysis developed by Braun & Clarke (2006, p. 93)
involved reporting the empirical data, analysis, and discussion of the findings. The
researchers have tried to accurately present the empirical data with supporting statements
from the respondents, which, Braun & Clarke (2006, p. 93), argues is of outmost importance
in any research project.

3.10 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ethical considerations have been significant in this study. In this study, the authors have
followed ethical considerations of informed consent, confidentiality, and data protection.
The study included human subjects, which makes informed consent of highest importance
(Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 290). Informed consent means that the participants in the
study were informed about the purpose of the study, their willingness to participate and their
right to cancel the interview at any time. Participants were also informed that their
participation is completely voluntary without consequences.

Confidentiality was also a crucial ethical consideration in the study. The data in the study
has been kept protected and confidential, which Miles & Huberman (1994, p. 291) also
outlines is of highest importance in a study. Data traceable to the participants in the study
has been kept anonymous. Their personal information such as name and contact details have
not been shared with anyone other than within the research team. In addition, all information
that can be linked to someone or something have been hidden, for example, specific
companies. However, to provide contextual relevance and facilitate relevant discussions,
some characteristics, such as participant roles and organizational attributes, have been
shared. These attributes have been evaluated in accordance with GDPR and are not
considered as personal data.

Lastly, the data protection, revolved around safeguarding the security of the collected data
and upholding the participants privacy. The data was stored on a protected computer for the
timeframe of the study and according to Umeå University's regulations. Furthermore, was
the data only used for the purpose of this study.

33
 4.0 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
This chapter presents primary qualitative data from the face-to-face and virtual interviews
conducted for this study. The chapter is organized into three primary segments. Section one
presents the unique challenges in remote teams. Common causes of conflicts in remote
teams are presented in the second section. Lastly, the third section presents specific themes
related to conflict management.

4.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY PARTICIPANTS

In this section, the researchers gathered information from the participants regarding their
personal attributes. The data on the participants' gender, industry, job title, experience
working in remote teams, role, interview length, date of the interview, and location for the
interview are presented in Table 4. The respondents will henceforth be referred to countries
as their respondent ID shows in Table 4. Countries were used to ease transcription as the
first letter of the country matches the first letter of the respondent.

Table 4: Characteristics of study participants

Respondent Gender Industry Job Title Experience Role Interview Date Location
ID duration
Albania Male IT project 8 years Manager 40:32 min 5/5- Face-to-
manager / 2023 face
full stack
developer
Poland Male IT project 17 years Manager 44:05 min 3/5- Microsoft
manager for 2023 Teams
IT- (virtual)
development
Hungary Male Production General 7 years Manager 40:05 min 4/5- Face-to-
Manager 2023 face
Sweden Male Insurance Claims 2 years Worker 43:00 min 3/5- Microsoft
adjuster 2023 Teams
(virtual)
Andorra Female Production Project 4 years Manager 51:52 min 4/5- Face-to-
Controller 2023 face
Japan Male IT Full-stack 6 years Worker 40:34 min 5/5- Face-to-
developer 2023 face

The data analysis indicated that a greater proportion of the participants were male in
comparison to their female counterparts. This is due to the fact that, out of the total of six
employees, five were male and one was female.

4.2 FINDINGS FROM THE INTERVIEWS

The study's primary aim was to examine the character and essence of the conflict in remote
teams. The research followed the interview guide to achieve this goal. The presentation of
the results comprises three primary sub-sections. The primary objective of chapter 4.3 was
to investigate the unique challenges that participants experienced while working in a
team/managing a team in a remote work setting. Chapter 4.4 identified the common causes
of conflicts in remote teams. Lastly, chapter 4.5 examines specific themes that affects
conflict management and resolution.

4.3 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS

Based on the question: “What are the unique challenges that you face with working in a
team/managing a team in a remote work setting?” several primary themes were emerged:

34
lack of communication, insufficient interpersonal connections, and technological
understanding. The following sections will address these themes.

4.3.1 Lack of Communication

According to the findings, most of the study participants share that lack of communication
was the main challenge in working and managing remote teams. Albania explains that there
are several unique challenges faced when working in a remote team or managing a remote
team. The lack of communication is highlighted as the biggest challenge and also refers to
the difficulty of maintaining effective communication channels and ensuring clear and
timely information exchange, as Albania stated “The biggest challenge with working in
remote teams is the lack of communication. Since remote work makes your communication
skills way worse it’s very important to be even more obvious and clear when presenting
something remotely. Software developing often requires much collaboration and teamwork
which makes communication even more important. Teamwork and quick learning are
though hindered by remote teams because you can’t use quickly ask the one next to you to
help you with something.” Hungary also mentioned that a clear and precise communication
becomes crucial in overcoming challenges in remote teams.

Additionally, Sweden explained that the virtual setting often hinders team members from
speaking up as they would in a face-to-face environment. The respondent identifies
communication as the most significant challenge faced by remote teams, highlighting the
importance of finding effective ways to overcome this obstacle. According to Japan, the
primary challenge of working in a remote team is the lack of effective communication. They
emphasize that remote work can hinder communication skills and, as a result, it becomes
crucial to be even more explicit and clear when presenting information remotely. The nature
of software development, which often requires collaboration and teamwork, increases the
importance of effective communication.

4.3.2 Insufficient Interpersonal Connections

According to Poland, one of the unique challenges they faced when working in a remote
team is building chemistry and trust among team members. The lack of daily social
interactions and communication hinders the development of trust, especially in new remote
teams. While established teams that have already built chemistry and trust may not face
many issues, the difficulty lies in managing new remote teams that lack trust, as Poland
stated, “If you have a team that has worked together for a long time and have built chemistry
and trust for each other it doesn’t matter if they work remote or not. There is barely any
troubles with this kind of teams. The hard part is as mentioned above to manage new remote
teams that doesn’t trust each other. This is very hard to solve by remote in my opinion. I
tried to get everyone to the city where the main office is located to drink beer with each
other and release some tension. This is to be honest a very good solution to many problems
that comes with working remotely. Because you avoid so many conflicts when you get to
know the other in the team personally, what he/she values etc.“.

Albania also pointed out the challenge of not being able to physically see each other, as
team members are often behind screens with cameras turned off, which can hinder
interpersonal connections and relationship-building. Additionally, in the context of new
remote teams, there is a challenge in developing trust among team members, as the absence
of in-person interaction and small talk may make it harder to establish confidence in each
other's work. Additionally, Hungary explained that remote teams require better preparation
and a stronger foundation for effective communication compared to physical meetings. The
absence of in-person interactions in a remote setting makes it difficult to interpret body
language and understand the emotions of team members.

35
Sweden also explained one of the challenges is the difficulty of providing constructive
criticism in a remote work setting. They believe that constructive criticism can often be
misperceived or misunderstood behind a screen, as it lacks the visual cues and body
language that can help understanding the intended message more effectively. This suggests
that the absence of in-person interaction is a challenge in effectively delivering feedback
and ensuring a shared understanding among team members, as Sweden stated “For pretty
much every customer there is more than one people in the remote team involved, and if
someone does something wrong/a mistake, I usually give constructive criticism, but
constructive criticism can often be perceived in wrong way behind a screen (remotely). It’s
easier to get an understanding of someone if you see him/her physically, then you can see
the body language as well “.

According to Andorra, the primary challenge they face while working in a remote team or
managing a remote team is the limitation of not being able to observe everyone's body
language. This makes it difficult to gauge reactions and emotions, leading to uncertainty
regarding whether someone may be taking offense or not.

4.3.3 Technological Understanding

One respondent also brought up technological understanding as a challenge in working and
managing remote teams. Hungary said that one of the challenges was ensuring that everyone
understands the technology used for remote communication to avoid interruptions during
meetings, as Hungary stated “Often, meetings are interrupted or delayed due to people don’t
know how to use, for example, the headset, how to share the screen, how to unmute the
microphone. On some occasions meetings are held physically in conference rooms with
some employees working from home participating in Microsoft Teams. On these occasions,
meeting managers may also struggle with the use of advanced technical equipment in
conference rooms”.

To conclude, lack of communication and insufficient interpersonal connection were the

common challenges that faced people working in or managing remote teams. All
respondents emphasize that lack of communication was a serious challenge. Four of the
respondents explained that insufficient interpersonal connection was an issue while only
one respondent raised the technological understanding as an issue in remote teams.

4.4 COMMON CAUSES OF CONFLICTS IN REMOTE TEAMS

Based on the question: “What are common causes of conflicts in remote teams?”, several
primary themes emerged: lack of communication, lack of trust and insufficient interpersonal
connections and lack of preparation and obscurity. The following sections will address these
themes.

4.4.1 Poor Communication

According to Albania, the common causes of conflicts in remote teams can be attributed to
poor communication, which often leads to misunderstandings. The respondent emphasized
that poorly communicated planning and goals can also trigger conflicts due to
misunderstandings, as Albania stated “How the project proceeds have of course a lot of
impact if conflicts arises or not. If the remote team is pressured from above etc. It’s often
the lack of communication that leads to conflicts in remote teams. Lack of communication
causes misunderstandings in the remote team. Bad communicated planning and goals are
also factors that triggers conflicts because of misunderstandings.”.

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Poland emphasizes that poor communication leads to misunderstandings and incorrect
prioritization within the remote team, ultimately resulting in conflicts. According to
Sweden, common causes of conflicts in remote teams are caused by people missing out on
important information and misinterpretation of criticism. They highlight that the lack of
communication skills inherent in remote teams is a significant factor triggering conflicts.
Additionally, conflicts can arise in larger remote meetings where some individuals may not
pay full attention or participate actively, leading to misunderstandings when new
information is presented. This difference from physical meetings, where everyone is present
and actively engaged, can contribute to conflicts based on different opinions of what is
considered correct, as Sweden stated, “People missing out on important information that
has to be follow can often trigger a conflict. Conflicts that can arise but aren’t as usual is
in bigger remote meetings with a lot of important information. Some people can miss out on
the information because they are doing other stuff at the same time when they have the
camera and microphone turned off. Conflicts because of this has happened within the
company. When someone thinks he’s done something right but the new information that the
meeting presented says otherwise. This is a big difference from physical meetings when
everyone have to be there and take in the new information“.

According to Andorra, a common cause of conflicts in remote teams is a disagreement at a

decision. This supports that conflicting opinions or perspectives on how to proceed can lead
to conflicts within the team. Additionally, they mention that misunderstandings and missing
important information can also contribute to conflicts. Being engaged in other tasks or
distractions while working remotely may hinder effective communication and
understanding, potentially leading to conflicts due to misunderstanding or incomplete
information, as Andorra stated “The most common cause that I can think of that arise a
conflict is a disagreement at a decision, but also common causes for conflicts are that
someone misunderstands or miss out of important information because you are doing
something else behind the screen.“.

According to Japan, there are several common causes of conflicts in remote teams. They
say that the overall progress and management of the project can significantly impact the
occurrence of conflicts. The primary cause, however, is poor communication within the
remote team. Insufficient communication often leads to misunderstandings, which in turn
trigger conflicts. Poorly communicated planning and goals are additional factors that
contribute to conflicts due to misunderstandings.

4.4.2 Lack of Trust and Interpersonal Connection

Albania explained that in the IT industry and remote teams, the lack of trust among team
members is identified as a major factor for conflicts. This lack of trust can create significant
tension, particularly in IT and programming where teamwork is crucial. Building and
maintaining trust among team members is therefore considered essential in minimizing
conflicts within remote teams, as Albania stated, “From my experience most of the conflicts
in remote teams comes when the remote team is newly created. Because then the chemistry
between people in the team is very bad, they don’t trust each other, don’t know what each
other’s values are etc. The lack of trust in and between remote teams causes most of the
conflicts in my opinion and from my experience “.

Japan supported that especially in a new team trust issues are causing conflicts. They
emphasize the importance of fostering a positive working climate where people feel free to
speak up and give both positive and constructive feed back to other team members, as Japan
stated, “Trust issues arise in the beginning when a new remote team is built which causes
conflicts, and as time goes and people in the remote team get to know each other better the

37
less conflicts there are. As mentioned as well, it’s extremely important to foster a positive
working climate and give each other positive or constructive feedback, because teamwork
in the software developing industry is very important. Constructive feedback can be
perceived the wrong way when expressed behind a screen which can lead to conflicts so be
extra obvious and clear when presenting constructive feedback for someone else“. They
further stated, “. It’s hard to build trust between each other when only working in remote
teams because trust comes from the small talk about other stuff for example at a coffee break
at the office. You trust the other persons’ work more if you know that person and his/hers
values. Having chemistry and some kind of personal connections would prevent conflicts
but also makes it easier to mitigate them. The best way of building chemistry is to meet
physically and have some kind of teambuilding activity, afterwork, workshops etc. This
builds trust between each other and would prevent the majority of conflicts that arises in a
remote team “

Poland responded that poor communication on a personal level is a common cause of

conflicts in remote teams. They explain that in remote work settings, team members may
not have the opportunity to understand each other's thoughts and what they consider
important since personal conversations are limited. The primary mode of interaction is
within the work context., as Poland stated, “The most common cause for conflicts in remote
teams is the lack of communication on the personal level. People in the team often doesn’t
know what others think are important etc. since you miss this kind of communication when
working in remote teams. The only time you kind of talk to each other is in a working setting.
It’s often the lack of communication that leads to conflicts in remote teams. Lack of
communication causes misunderstandings/wrong prioritization in the remote team “. Trust
within a team facilitates open communication and interpersonal relations. The respondents
emphasized the importance to trust in others work which is more likely if you know each
other on a personal level and may also mitigate conflicts that arise.

4.4.3 Lack of Preparation and Obscurity

According to Hungary, common causes of conflicts in remote teams include insufficient
analysis and presentation of information, as well as obscurity from the manager. The
respondent emphasizes the importance of thorough preparation for remote meetings and the
need for structured meetings to establish a framework and ensure everyone is aligned.
Additionally, Hungary mentions that conflicts can arise due to dissidents, where
disagreements and conflicts often emerge among highly skilled individuals who seek to
assert their expertise. The notion of prestige and the desire to be right can contribute to
conflicts within remote teams. Overall, the respondent highlights the need for effective
communication, clear objectives, and conflict management strategies tailored to the specific
types of conflicts that arise, as Hungary stated, “Common causes of conflicts that are
uniquely in remote teams is bad analysis and presentation of information. As mentioned
before, it’s much more important that you are well prepared for a meeting remotely. Another
common cause of conflict in a remote team is obscurity from the manager, it is important to
have structured meetings that sets up a framework and objectives so that everyone is on the
same page with what is going on. Conflicts can appear for a lot of different reasons and
requires different management styles to mitigate the conflicts depending on what kind of
conflict. In general, the most common cause of conflicts that aren’t unique but appear a lot
in remote teams is dissidents. The more qualified people in the remote team often the more
conflicts there are, the prestige of being right causes conflicts “.

To summarize, poor communication stands out as the main cause of conflict in remote
teams. All respondents explain that poor communication results in conflict. Lack of trust
and interpersonal communication also appears as a major cause of conflict. Lastly, lack of

38
preparation and obscurity was brought up by one respondent, who explained a case on
inadequate analysis and presentation of information as well as obscurity from managers. It
is notable that this issue is not unique to remote teams but could be of more significance in
remote setting.

Next section will focus on specific themes that affects conflict management and resolution,
the interview guide focused on five main themes that can affect conflict and conflict
resolution based on previous research, these are: distance, nature of work, explicit
management and leadership, organizational culture and communication tools & autonomy
and will be presented below.

4.5 FACTORS AFFECTING CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN REMOTE TEAMS

The study also sought to examine the factors that affects conflict management in remote
teams. On this issue, the study examined the factors distance, nature of work, organizational
culture, and communication tools & autonomy, and their influence on conflict management.
The findings will be discussed in the following section.

4.5.1 Distance
Distance plays a significant role in affecting conflict management within remote teams. To
understand the impact of distance on conflict and conflict management, respondents were
asked whether they saw distance impact conflict management in remote teams. They were
also asked to share specific examples and how they were resolved. Based on the question:
“Have you seen distance impact conflict and conflict management in remote teams? Can
you share a specific example and how it was resolved?” the main these that came up was
that physical separation promoted conflict and is discussed in the following section.

Andorra, Project controller, RnD, in one company, stated, "Distance is kind of what defines
a remote team," indicating that physical separation inherently influences the dynamics of
conflict. The respondent provided an example from their experience working on the
construction of a new factory for Company. The remote team members and managers were
spread across the country, making it impossible for them to meet in person regularly.
Consequently, conflicts arose, and they emphasized that conflicts are more easily resolved
in person because individuals cannot avoid confronting the issues as they can when working
remotely. To address the conflicts, the project manager had to schedule a significantly
higher number of meetings to foster better relationships among team members and ensure
everyone understood the project's priorities. This solution of increased meetings aimed to
create closer connections among the involved parties and ultimately contributed to resolving
the conflicts.

Poland also supported that distance significantly affects conflict management. They stated
that distance defined remote team and highlighted how physical separation was inherent to
remote work. Poland further explains that distance affects the ability to manage and mitigate
conflicts effectively. In remote teams, the absence of face-to-face interaction made conflict
resolution more challenging, as nonverbal cues and communication skills were lost.
However, they emphasized that the approach to resolving conflicts remained the same,
whether in person or remotely. It involved actively listening to the parties involved,
engaging in discussions, and reaching agreements. Nevertheless, Poland explains that
conflict resolution remotely required multiple meetings and that conflicts were not always
resolved immediately due to the inherent difficulties working on distance, as Poland stated,
“I don’t think distance really impact the conflict itself, but for sure it impacts the conflict
management. It is a lot harder to solve a conflict remotely than physically. In the example
below, I felt that everyone has to be gathered physically because it’s easier to express

39
themselves in a physical presence rather than remote. But if meeting physically isn’t an
option it’s important to be very clear remotely. Everything is possible to do remotely but
often it isn’t as good as meeting physically. But I would try to do the same, book a remote
meeting with the involved parties and allow them to openly express their thoughts and
opinions to be able to understand what’s went wrong and compromise so that the conflict
is solved/mitigated. I would also do the workshops remotely. “.

Albania, who works as a project manager explained that distance primarily affects conflict
management rather than the conflict itself. They believed that solving conflicts remotely
was significantly more challenging than resolving them in person. Albania provided an
example where they felt it was essential for everyone involved to be physically present
because expressing oneself is easier in a physical setting compared to a remote one.
However, if physical meetings were not possible, the respondent emphasized the importance
of clear communication in remote interactions. They suggested booking a remote meeting
with the parties involved and providing them with a platform to openly express their
thoughts and opinions. This approach allowed for a better understanding of what went
wrong and facilitates to resolve or mitigate the conflict. They mentioned that remote
solutions may not be as effective as in-person meetings but emphasized the importance of
maintaining open communication and conducting workshops remotely. Ultimately, Albania
concluded that while conflicts can be solved remotely, it is inherently more challenging than
resolving conflicts in a physical setting.

Hungary, a general manager, explained that distance primarily affected conflict

management in remote teams. They experienced that not being able to call individuals into
the office due to distance is a challenge. However, they believed that cultural differences in
conflict management had more significant impact than distance itself. They shared that they
had experienced various remote conflicts with people from around the world. When faced
with a conflict and unable to meet the remote team in person, they suggested scheduling a
remote meeting exclusively with the parties involved. By limiting the audience to only those
directly affected, it becomes easier to manage and mitigate the conflict. They emphasized
that while distance may present logistical obstacles, it is the cultural variations in conflict
resolution approaches that is of more significance on conflicts.

Sweden, a remote team worker, said that distance indeed affects conflict and conflict
management in remote teams. They shared an example where conflicts arise due to the
physical separation between team members. In this case, certain work duties could only be
performed at the office, while some remote team members exclusively work from home. As
a result, the individuals present at the office were burdened with extra work that they
shouldn't have to handle. Meanwhile, remote team members who were unable to come to
the office due to distance end up with a reduced workload. This discrepancy in workload
created tension and triggered conflicts within the team. Sweden explained that the conflicts
were resolved by addressing the issue with the manager and expressing concerns about the
unfair distribution of work. Consequently, the manager had to transfer more remote work
to the team members who exclusively worked remotely. This resolution demonstrated how
distance can lead to imbalances in workload and subsequently cause conflicts, which can be
mitigated through open communication and adjustments in task allocation.

To conclude, all respondents explained that distance significantly affected conflict

management. Although, three respondents stated that distance doesn’t directly affect the
conflict itself rather how to manage the conflict. The examples they provided concerns
physical separation to the type of conflicts that they faced. The respondents provided
examples on how to manage conflict. They emphasized the importance of frequent

40
meetings, actively listening to the parties involved, engaging in discussions, and fair
distribution of workload.

4.5.2 Nature of Work

Nature of work is another factor whose impact of conflicts in remote teams was sought. The
study utilized the question: “How do you think the nature of work affects conflict and
conflict management in remote teams? Can you provide some examples from your personal
experience?” to examine this theme.

In Albania’s view, the nature of work in software development greatly influences conflicts
and conflict management in remote teams. They emphasize that teamwork and collaboration
are crucial in this field, and the lack of teamwork and trust can lead to conflicts within
remote teams. The respondent suggests that trust is built through interpersonal interactions
and getting to know each other beyond work-related discussions. They mention how
informal conversations during coffee breaks at the office contribute to trust-building. In the
context of software development, conflicts may arise when individuals in remote teams hold
different opinions about the right approach or methodology.

Poland believes that the nature of work greatly influences conflicts and conflict management
in remote teams, particularly during the initial phases of a project. They experienced that
working remotely, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, made it more challenging
for teams to establish chemistry and trust among members. The communication aspect was
also affected, as it is harder to effectively describe or demonstrate something behind a screen
compared to face-to-face interactions. These difficulties led to conflicts arising from a lack
of trust in each other’s work and instances where important information was missed,
resulting in mistakes and further conflicts. The respondent concludes that the beginning
phase of an IT project is often the most difficult, primarily due to the lack of trust between
team members, as well as the inherent complexities of the work itself.

Sweden believes that the nature of work in remote teams has a significant impact on
conflicts and conflict management. Specifically, they highlight the conflict arising from
differing priorities between the remote team manager and the team members. The manager
emphasizes optimizing efficiency and closing deals quickly to serve more customers, while
the respondent prioritizes customer satisfaction over strict efficiency. These divergent
approaches have led to conflicts and disagreements within the team. The respondent
highlights how conflicting work priorities can contribute to conflicts in remote teams, as
individuals have different ideas about what should be prioritized, as Sweden stated, “The
remote team manager want’s us in the remote team to always try to optimize the effectivity,
they want us to close the deal with the customer as fast as possible to be available for a new
customer (effectivity = customers/hour). This has caused a lot of conflicts between us in the
remote team and the manager. Everyone has different ways of working, and I prioritize
more to get a satisfied customer than to be extremely effective. I have had a few conflicts
with my remote team manager that thinks I should prioritize different and be more effective
rather than making the customer very satisfied “.

According to Andorra, RnD controller, the nature of work in the economy department
affects conflict and conflict management in remote teams. They mention that conflicts are
not frequently created with the tasks they have, saying that the nature of their work may not
in itself lead to conflict. However, conflicts can arise when there are different approaches
to managing accounting and finances. These conflicts are generally resolved by listening to
the highest boss within the economy department, who provides guidance on how such

41
matters should be handled within the company. This indicates that the hierarchical structure
and clear authority within the department play a role in conflict resolution.

Japan explains that the nature of work in remote teams can influence the occurrence of
conflicts and conflict management. They say that most conflicts are often small and arise
from misunderstandings, such as constructive criticism being misunderstood or instances
where individuals unknowingly are doing unnecessary work tasks. The respondent also
highlights how the nature of work, particularly in software development, can contribute to
conflicts. Specifically, conflicts can arise when team members with different backgrounds,
such as varying coding approaches, have difficulty understanding each other's perspectives.
Additionally, the respondent identifies a lack of trust as a common issue in remote teams,
especially when team members are unfamiliar with one another on a personal level. This
lack of personal connection can contribute to conflicts within newly formed remote teams.

An additional question within the theme nature of work was: “What strategies have you
found to be effective in managing conflicts that arise in remote teams with different natures
of work?” This question sought to understand the methods that were effective in conflict
management. From this question two themes emerged including, interpersonal connections,
communication and compromises and are discussed below.

Interpersonal Connection
Albania stated, “A good open communication also increases the trust within the remote team
for each other, reduces conflicts. I have been through so many conflicts where two
individuals didn’t trust each other’s work. These conflicts an be solved by promoting a
positive climate in the remote team and also preferably schedule physical meetings
occasionally to build better chemistry and teamwork spirit within the team” Furthermore
they explains that establishing chemistry and personal connections within a remote team is
crucial for effectively managing conflicts that arise in different natures of work, particularly
in software development. Hungary emphasize the importance of meeting physically and
engaging in team-building activities, after-work events, or workshops to build trust among
team members. By fostering these connections, conflicts can be prevented in the first place.
However, if conflicts do arise, the respondent suggests scheduling a remote meeting where
the involved parties can openly express their opinions and thoughts, allowing the team to
work towards an agreement. Although a physical meeting is preferred, a remote meeting
can also facilitate effective conflict resolution.

According to Sweden, effective conflict management strategies in remote teams with

different natures of work involve prioritizing communication and fostering personal
connections. Sweden’s remote manager implemented a strategy of scheduling personal
meetings with team members to better understand their values and preferences.
Additionally, the team engaged in after-work activities to strengthen their personal
connections. The respondent emphasizes that chemistry within the remote team facilitates
easier communication and constructive feedback exchange. However, remote work reduces
the opportunities for informal interactions, such as coffee breaks, that foster personal
connections. Therefore, the manager plays a crucial role in organizing activities and
meetings to foster chemistry and connections within and between remote teams. They also
mentioned they have seen a change in their team manager leadership style due to enhanced
personal relations has been established.

Communication and Compromise

Poland suggests several effective strategies for managing conflicts in remote teams with
different natures of work. Firstly, they emphasize the importance of being well-prepared as

42
a manager and establishing a clear framework and objectives for the project. This helps to
provide clarity and guidance for team members, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and
conflicts. Additionally, effective communication is crucial, including clearly articulated
expectations for the teams, as Poland stated, “The best way to manage and prevent conflicts
is to have constant communication within the remote team. A good open communication so
that everyone has the same understanding minimizes the conflicts for sure“. Poland also
recommends incorporating physical meetings that are not solely work-related. These
meetings provide an opportunity for team members to interact and build trust, fostering
better chemistry within the remote teams. By implementing these strategies, managers can
proactively address conflicts and promote a more harmonious and collaborative work
environment in remote teams with diverse work natures.

According to Andorra, the strategies for managing conflicts in remote teams with different
natures of work may vary. In their experience, conflicts within the RnD department are
handled differently than simply relying on the highest boss to decide. Instead, the most
effective approach has been to find compromises that satisfy everyone involved. Andorra
emphasizes the importance of ensuring that everyone's opinions are heard and taken into
account before reaching a decision. They also mention that their work often involves
stressful periods, such as when reports need to be prepared, which can trigger conflicts in
the remote team. To address this, they recommend scheduling a meeting with the highest
boss to establish a framework that clarifies task priorities and helps prevent conflicts from
arising.

From the responses, one can deduce that nature of work significantly affects conflicts. The
type of tasks that members of the team have, and needed resources often result in conflict.
Lack of trust was also highlighted as a factor contributing to conflicts in some types of
works. However, works that require more collaboration are more likely to experience
conflicts.

4.5.3 Explicit Management and Leadership

This study sort to examine the influence of explicit management and leadership style on
conflict resolution in remote teams. Two questions to explore this theme. The first question
was: “Can you describe how explicit management has impacted conflict resolution in
remote teams that you have managed or been a part of? Have you seen any specific examples
where explicit management has helped prevent or resolve conflicts?” These questions sort
to understand the respondent’s understanding of this factor and how it impacted conflict.
The theme that emerged by these questions is that explicit management limits conflict in
remote teams and is discussed below.

Limitation of Conflict
Albania’s response emphasizes the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution in
remote teams. They explain that communication becomes more challenging in remote work
settings, making it crucial for managers to be clear and actively promote open
communication. In an office environment, seeking immediate assistance from a nearby
colleague is easy. Still, in a remote team, the process involves writing or calling someone,
creating an additional step. To address this, managers must prioritize and encourage
communication within the remote team, ensuring team members feel comfortable reaching
out for support. Albania emphasizes the significance of high availability for the remote team
manager, stating that they should strive to be almost always accessible. The need for
increased availability in remote teams compared to physical teams underscores the
importance of explicit management in facilitating effective conflict resolution through clear
communication and readily available support.

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Poland’s response highlights the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution
within remote teams. They provided an example of a significant conflict due to mistrust and
tension among team members. Poland found it challenging to detect the conflict in a remote
work setup as there were no physical cues or interactions. The conflict stemmed from a
misunderstanding of the importance of certain aspects to each team member, indicating a
breakdown in communication on a personal level. Poland took decisive action to address
this conflict by calling everyone to the office for an open discussion about the situation.
This allowed team members to freely express their opinions and perspectives, which made
it easier to understand better what had gone wrong and work towards a resolution. The team
also engaged in workshops to foster better chemistry and improve their working
relationships. This example emphasizes the role of explicit management in proactively
addressing conflicts within remote teams through direct communication, open dialogue, and
team-building activities.

Hungary’s response highlights the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution in

remote teams, mainly when dealing with dissatisfied employees. They experience that
managing a remote team and resolving conflicts become incredibly challenging when
employees are unhappy, as they may actively seek out conflicts. Hungary adopts a strategy
of setting up physical meetings to address conflicts with unhappy remote workers. This
allows employees to express their feelings in a more personal and direct manner compared
to remote communication. Furthermore, Hungary emphasizes the importance of explicit
management in remote meetings with individuals from different cultures. He recognizes
that different cultures have varying approaches to leadership and management. For instance,
when interacting with individuals from China, Hungary adjusts his leadership style to be
more passive, compared to managing Americans where he adjusts the leadership to a more
aggressive style. This demonstrates the significance of explicit management in adapting
leadership approaches to different cultural contexts within remote teams, ultimately
contributing to effective conflict resolution.

Sweden’s response highlights the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution

within remote teams, focusing on a specific example. In this case, a conflict arose between
Sweden’s remote team and the team manager regarding the length of customer
conversations. The manager prioritized efficiency, while the team sought to improve
customer satisfaction. This difference in perspective triggered the conflict. However, the
conflict was mitigated and resolved through explicit management. Sweden describes how
the manager, who is typically egoistic and believes they are always right, demonstrated
explicit management by setting aside their ego and actively listening to Sweden and the
team's perspective. Listening and considering the team's viewpoint, particularly their
emphasis on customer satisfaction, indicates an adjustment in manager's usual managing
style. Conflict resolution through explicit management underscores the importance of active
listening, openness, and flexibility in addressing conflicts within remote teams.

Andorra’s response highlights the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution

within remote teams, specifically in the context of a large project. They describe an external
project manager with strong conflict resolution skills, characterized by their listening ability
and allowing everyone to express their opinions. This approach aimed to gather different
perspectives and make the best decision collectively. Andorra’s notes that a manager may
need to adopt a more assertive leadership style and make decisions independently in some
situations. However, in this project, the project manager's leadership style emphasized
inclusivity and ensured everyone felt heard. This approach effectively resolved many
conflicts, as the manager remained calm, allowed everyone to speak their opinions, and set

44
aside their ego. Andorra’s response highlights how explicit management, characterized by
active listening, inclusivity, and reduced personal ego, positively impacts conflict resolution
within remote teams by fostering open communication and a collaborative decision-making
process, as Andorra stated “In this big project I was a part of there was as mentioned a lot
of conflicts. We had a n external project manager that was very skilled at solving conflicts,
he was a good listener that let everyone put their opinions to the table, to be able to choose
the best decision. But sometimes a decision couldn’t be made right away, more facts had to
be gathered. But the project manager was never stressed even if the tempo/deadline was
tight.What kind of leadership style a manager has affects if you can solve a conflict or not.
Sometimes depending on situation, you might need a leader that doesn’t let everyone speak
their opinion and just runs them over and takes the decision himself/herself. But in this big
project as mentioned already the project manager let everyone speak up and let everyone
felt heard, which solved many conflicts. He was exceptional at solving conflicts by being
calm, always letting everyone speak their opinion and reduce his own ego “.

Japan’s response highlights the impact of explicit management on conflict resolution within
remote teams. They emphasize the importance of regular check-ins and intimate
communication with the remote team, even when they never meet physically. By
maintaining frequent communication, Japan aims to gain better control over the team's
dynamics, identify potential tensions, and prevent conflicts. This proactive approach to
communication has not only helped prevent conflicts but also facilitated their early
resolution. Japan recognizes that effective and clear communication is even more crucial in
remote teams compared to physical ones. They stress the need for adequate preparation,
ensuring remote meetings have well-prepared materials to minimize uncertainties and
reduce the risk of triggering conflicts. Japan’s response highlights how explicit
management, through consistent and clear communication, and proactive measures, can
prevent conflicts and enhance conflict resolution within remote teams.

From the response, it is clear that explicit management reduce conflict in remote teams.
Through better communication and addressing of each employee’s need’s managers and
leaders have the ability to reduce and/or resolve the conflicts in these teams.

The second question within the explicit management theme was: “How do you approach
conflict management in remote teams, and what strategies have you found to be effective?
Can you give an example of a particularly challenging conflict that arose in a remote team
you managed or was a part of. Did explicit management play a role in resolving the
conflict?” Through these questions, themes like conflict avoidance, communication, change
in management, and fostering mutual compromises emerged and are discussed below.

Conflict Avoidance
Japans’s response highlights their approach to conflict management in remote teams,
emphasizing the importance of avoiding conflicts whenever possible. However, if a conflict
arises, Japan believed that allowing everyone involved to express their opinions is crucial.
The specific strategies for managing conflicts may vary depending on the nature of the
conflict, as Japan stated, “I try to avoid conflicts as much as possible in remote teams. But
if a conflict occurs I think it’s important that everyone involved get to say their opinion.
How to manage a conflict of course depends on what kind of conflict there is, but a general
rule especially in remote teams is to be very clear (need to be more obvious and clearer in
remote teams) when communicating objectives and tasks, otherwise there will always be
misunderstandings and conflicts trigger “.

Communication

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Albania emphasizes the significance of clear communication in remote teams. They note
that being explicit and clear in communicating goals and tasks is essential, as remote teams
require more obvious and explicit communication to minimize misunderstandings and
prevent conflicts from arising. Albania’s describes that they prioritize open dialogue, active
participation, and clear communication as effective strategies for conflict management in
remote teams. Poland explains the challenges of remote communication, stating that it can
be harder to manage conflicts remotely due to the limitations of communication skills
behind a screen. Nevertheless, Poland stated that their approach to resolving conflicts would
be the same, regardless of the remote setting.

Hungary also highlights the significance of clear communication in preventing and

resolving conflicts. Hungary shares an example of a challenging remote conflict involving
three parties and a dispute over a battery for air pods. Despite multiple remote meetings
failing to resolve the conflict, Hungary took the initiative to meet the other parties in
Frankfurt, Germany. He recognized that being physically present was essential in
understanding each other's perspectives and interests due to the significant differences
among the parties. After a full day of face-to-face discussions, where everyone presented
their ideas and opinions, a classic compromise was reached leading to an agreement. This
example underscores the difficulty of resolving conflicts remotely when deep understanding
and connection are crucial. Hungary explained that meeting in person allowed for a better
resolution due to the dignity of the conflicting interests. However, he maintains the overall
strategy of compromise as the most effective approach to conflict management in remote
teams.

Sweden emphasizes the need for open communication within the remote team to prevent
conflicts from arising. They highlight the importance of easy and fast communication
channels with the remote team manager. Sweden mentions that their remote team benefits
from having a manager who is almost always available. This availability ensures that
disagreements or potential conflicts can swiftly be mitigated. Andorra also emphasizes the
need for open communication within the team, facilitated by the manager, to create a
framework that prevents and mitigates potential conflicts. Additionally, he stresses the
importance of finding solutions that reasonably satisfy everyone involved when
disagreements occur. By addressing conflicts directly, promoting open communication, and
striving for reasonable satisfaction among team members, conflicts in remote teams can be
handled effectively, as Sweden stated, “The best way to mitigate a conflict from arising is
allowing open communication within the remote team and the communication way to the
manager should be easy and fast. Communication is the hard part with working in remote
teams, but something that has helped my remote team is that the manager for the remote
team almost always is available. In that way any disagreements or conflicts can be mitigated
very fast “.

Change in Management Approach

The response from Poland indicates their approach to conflict management in remote teams,
highlighting a change in their overall management style rather than specifically in conflict
management. They say that the way of managing conflicts remain the same, regardless of
whether they occur remotely or in-person. Poland emphasizes the importance of allowing
both sides involved in the conflict to express their opinions and engage in discussions to
resolve the conflict.

Andorra approaches conflict management in remote teams by emphasizing the importance

of addressing conflicts directly rather than avoiding them. They believe postponing conflicts
can result in financial losses for the company, as important decisions may be delayed.

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Andorra emphasizes the importance actively addressing conflicts early to find resolutions
and prevent further complications. In remote teams, they highlight the significance of
ensuring everyone is well-informed, prepared, and have the same understanding of the
matter. This helps to minimize misunderstandings and misinterpretation that can potentially
lead to conflicts, as Andorra stated, “I never think it’s good to avoid conflicts because sooner
or later a decision must be made. Trying to postpone conflicts only costs money for the
company. In this big project I was a part of, there was a lot of decisions that could be made
earlier to save a lot of money. What happened in reality was that a lot of conflicts between
parties was postponed and not dealt with directly so that a lot of money went lost. In my
opinion conflicts should never be postponed, it’s better to try to solve it or deal with it
directly “.

Compromises
Hungary approaches conflict management in remote teams by prioritizing compromise as
the main strategy. He believes finding a solution where everyone involved is equally
dissatisfied or satisfied is the most effective approach. Hungary emphasizes the importance
of considering various factors, such as economic and technical issues to ensure that
decisions are in the best interest of all parties, as Hungary stated, “Rule number one when
approaching conflicts in remote teams is to compromise. The most effective strategy I find
is to compromise so that everyone is equally dissatisfied or equally satisfied. You must look
at the options so it’s in everyone’s interest economically, technically, construction-wise etc.
It is very important to be clear so that everyone understands the decisions (to prevent and
to solve conflicts) “.

Sweden approaches conflict management in remote teams by prioritizing the importance of

ensuring everyone gives the opportunity to express their opinion. They believe that conflicts
should be addressed by calling the involved parties to a meeting, either remotely or in
person, depending on the complexity of the conflict. In this meeting, everyone can present
their side of the conflict to better understand the core and work towards resolution. While
Sweden shares the opinion for resolving conflicts in person, they realize that it is not always
possible in remote teams.

Japan approaches conflict management in remote teams by prioritizing calmness and

understanding. Their strategy involves understanding the nature and the trigger of the
conflict. If possible, Japan prefers to address conflicts in a physical office setting. If that is
not an option, they suggest a separate call where both parties can express their perspectives.
They emphasize that many conflicts arise from lack of communication and
misunderstandings and highlights the importance of being very clear when explaining one's
viewpoint to minimize the risk for misunderstandings. Clear communication and
understanding, enhance effective conflict management.

To get a deeper understanding of conflict management in remote teams, an additional

question was asked: “What strategies have you found to be the most effective ways to
manage conflicts in remote teams?” Albania emphasized the importance of managing
conflicts in remote teams in a similar manner as in physical settings. The respondent
suggests actively listening to all parties involved, encouraging open discussion, and
providing opposing viewpoints to find a resolution through agreement or compromise.
However, they say that managing conflicts remotely can be more challenging due to limited
communication skills. The respondent mentions that when possible, gathering the involved
parties at the office can be beneficial for conflict resolution. Additionally, they highlight the
significance of addressing trust issues within the remote team. They propose implementing
personal connection activities to build trust and foster positive relationships. Furthermore,

47
Albania stresses the importance of promoting a work climate with open communication and
positivity, where team members feel comfortable reaching out to one another for assistance.

Poland explains that building chemistry within the remote team is the most effective way to
manage and prevent conflicts. They emphasize the importance of team members knowing
each other on a personal level to foster positive relationships and understanding. In
situations where conflicts do arise, Poland suggests two strategies. The first is to call
everyone to a physical meeting, which allows for face-to-face interaction and direct
resolution of the conflict. If an in-person meeting is not possible, the respondent
recommends scheduling a remote meeting with the involved parties. During this meeting,
the parties are given the opportunity to clearly express their arguments and concerns. The
respondent believes that through open communication and clear presentation of arguments,
conflicts can be resolved. They express confidence that conflicts usually sort themselves
out when the involved parties have the opportunity to discuss and understand each other's
perspectives.

According to Hungary, there is need for proactive measures to prevent conflicts in remote
teams. They mention the significance of ensuring everyone is well-informed and prepared
for meetings by providing relevant materials and ensuring that all team members are on the
same page, as Hungary stated, “As mentioned earlier it’s always good to present the parties
with material that they can read up on before a meeting because otherwise unnecessary
conflicts can appear because people can often speak in a meeting about something they
don’t know about. As manager you can be very irritated if people isn’t prepared for
meetings and conflicts might appear that way as well “. Furthermore the respondent also
highlights the value of having regular and focused remote meetings to address conflicts
promptly. They suggest calling the involved parties to a meeting to facilitate open
communication, allowing everyone to present their opinions clearly and provide
counterarguments. Additionally, Hungary emphasizes the importance of compromise as an
effective strategy to mitigate conflicts. They emphasize that resolving conflicts may require
multiple remote meetings to ensure mutual understanding and prevent potential conflicts in
the future.

Sweden suggests several strategies for effectively managing conflicts in remote teams.
Firstly, they recommend organizing remote video meetings where the involved parties can
openly communicate and express their thoughts and feelings regarding the conflict. This
approach allows for direct engagement and discussion to address the issues at hand. In cases
where conflicts involve a larger group, Sweden suggests using democratic voting through
digital surveys. This approach ensures that everyone's opinions and preferences are
considered when making decisions related to the conflict. By implementing these strategies,
the respondent has found success in managing conflicts within their remote teams.

Andorra identified several strategies that they find effective in managing conflicts in remote
teams. Firstly, they emphasize the importance of being well-prepared with clear
communication and presentations to ensure everyone in the team can follow along, which
helps prevent conflicts from arising. Secondly, they highlight the significance of creating
an inclusive environment where everyone's opinions are heard, as this can contribute to
resolving or preventing conflicts. They also suggest actively engaging team members by
asking control questions to ensure understanding and participation, thus mitigating potential
conflicts. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of reliable technology to avoid
interruptions during meetings, which can lead to unnecessary frustration. While
acknowledging the challenge of not being able to meet in person, they suggest

48
compromising to address conflicts in remote teams, aiming for a solution that leaves all
parties equally satisfied or dissatisfied.

Japan identified constant and open communication as the most effective strategy for
managing and preventing conflicts in remote teams. The respondent emphasizes the
importance of clear and shared understanding within the team, stating that it minimizes
conflicts. They also highlight the role of open communication in building trust among team
members, which helps reduce conflicts. Additionally, Japan mentions the value of
promoting a positive climate within the remote team. They suggest that scheduling physical
meetings occasionally can further strengthen team chemistry and foster a sense of team
spirit.

To summarize, collaboration through communication and compromise were shown as the

most effective ways of handling conflicts. Conflict avoidance and change in management
were also brought up as methods of managing conflict in remote teams. How to approach
conflicts is depending on situation, type of conflict and dignity of disagreement. However,
it was also clear that need for interpersonal connection helped in reducing conflicts.
Managers were also encouraged to foster interpersonal contacts between team members
since geographical dispersions hinder informal interactions.

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4.5.4 Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is also a factor in employee interactions. This study sought to
examine how organizational culture influence remote teams. Through several questions, the
study examined the influence of organizational culture on conflicts in remote teams. The
first question was: “How do you think organizational culture leads to conflict in remote
teams, and what steps can be taken to foster a positive culture that minimizes conflicts?” A
conclusion was drawn from the responses that were given by the interviewees.

According to Albania, organizational culture, particularly in the context of remote teams,

can contribute to conflicts. In the software development industry, trust issues often arise at
the beginning of new projects when team members are unfamiliar with one another. This
lack of trust can lead to conflicts. To foster a positive culture and minimize conflicts, it is
crucial to prioritize creating a positive working climate. This can be achieved by promoting
open communication and providing positive or constructive feedback to team members. The
respondent emphasizes the importance of being extra clear and obvious when giving
feedback in a remote setting to avoid misunderstandings that may escalate into conflicts.
Additionally, as team members in remote teams get to know each other better over time, the
likelihood of conflicts decreases. Albania believes that creating a positive working
environment, promoting open communication, and building trust among team members are
crucial steps to foster a positive organizational culture that minimizes conflicts in remote
teams.

According to Poland, in the IT industry, there is generally a teamwork culture that reduces
the likelihood of conflicts arising from organizational culture. However, in other industries
like sales, where there may be a competitive atmosphere, conflicts can be more occurring.
To foster a positive culture that minimizes conflicts in any industry, the respondent suggests
promoting teamwork and open communication. Encouraging a supportive environment
where mistakes are not criticized but rather seen as opportunities for learning is also
important. By emphasizing teamwork, open communication, and a non-blaming culture,
organizations can create a positive work environment that reduces conflicts in remote teams.

According to Sweden, organizational culture can contribute to conflicts in remote teams.

They mention that the competitive culture within their company, where everything is
documented and statistics are openly displayed, can lead to conflicts. The visibility of
mistakes and performance metrics can create a tense environment where remote team
members may discuss each other's mistakes, leading to conflicts. To foster a positive culture
that minimizes conflicts, steps can be taken to promote collaboration and support rather than
competition. This can include implementing communication channels that encourage
constructive feedback and learning, emphasizing the value of teamwork and collective
success rather than individual rankings, and providing opportunities for remote team
members to connect and build relationships beyond just focusing on performance metrics.
By shifting the focus towards collaboration, support, and a positive team culture, conflicts
arising from a competitive environment can be mitigated in remote teams, as Sweden stated,
“Organizational culture is definitely something that can lead to conflicts. It’s a competitive
culture in my organization. Everything that we do is documented and statistics are provided
that everyone in the company can see. We have a big screen in the office and also a site
remotely that shows the leaderboard of effectivity and customer satisfaction for every
worker in the company. Since everyone can see each other’s mistakes and statistics it has
happened that conflicts occured when remote team members are discussing each other’s
mistakes “.

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According to Andorra, organizational culture differences can lead to conflicts in remote
teams. They provide an example of a project where the daughter company had a different
organizational culture compared to the mother company, leading to conflicts. The mother
company’s detailed approach and lengthy decision-making process collided with the
daughter company's way of working. The respondent emphasizes that organizational culture
can impact conflicts in both remote and physical teams. In remote team meetings, there may
be a higher tendency for team members to withhold their opinions compared to in-person
meetings. To foster a positive culture that minimizes conflicts in remote teams, the
respondent suggests implementing structured meetings to reduce side conversations. The
remote team manager can also proactively ask direct questions to ensure everyone's
participation. Additionally, addressing competitiveness within the organizational culture is
important to prevent conflicts. While competitiveness can be beneficial, maintaining a
balanced approach is necessary. By considering these steps, organizations can foster a
positive culture that minimizes conflicts in remote teams affected by organizational culture
differences.

According to Japan, the organizational culture in their company is more shaped to prevent
conflicts rather than trigger them in remote teams. They prioritize supporting and assisting
each other instead of fostering competition among team members. The respondent takes
steps to foster a positive culture within the remote team by emphasizing the importance of
working together as a unit rather than as individuals. They are careful giving constructive
feedback to avoid offending anyone behind the screen. Additionally, they emphasize the
need for clear communication and understanding, as remote communication can be more
challenging than in-person interactions.

From the responses, organizational culture affects conflict in remote teams. Organizations
that promote support and collaboration limit conflict. Also, organizations that foster
communication and proper feedback channels prevent conflicts in remote teams. On the
other hand, organizations with lengthy decision-making processes and carelessness with
employee wellbeing promoted conflicts.

To get a deeper understanding of conflicts due to conflicting organizational culture,

additional questions were asked: “Can you give an example of a conflict that arose in a
remote team due to conflicting organizational culture? How was the conflict resolved, and
what lessons were learned that could be applied to future situations?” These questions
sought to get examples of conflict that arose due to organizational cultures, the resolution
approaches that were used and lessons that were learned.

From the responses, most of the respondents did not have direct examples of conflicts that
were because of organizational culture. Poland lacked a direct example of a conflict in a
remote team specifically caused by conflicting organizational culture. However, they had
experienced conflicts that led to people quitting their jobs due to a lack of understanding of
how the organization functions. To prevent such conflicts, the respondent emphasizes the
importance of improved and clearer communication regarding the objectives and goals of
the company or organization. They also suggest implementing shorter follow-up sessions
for new remote teams. The respondent mentions working in sprints of four weeks, with a
larger meeting every fourth week to provide feedback on the work accomplished during that
period. While they do not provide a specific conflict resolution example, the lesson learned
from their experience is the significance of effective communication and regular feedback
to ensure understanding and alignment within the remote team. Applying these strategies in
future situations could help prevent conflicts arising from a lack of clarity in organizational
culture and processes, as Poland stated, “I don’t have a direct example that links to

51
organizational culture, but I have examples where a conflict has led to people quitting their
jobs because they didn’t understand how the organization was working. And how do you
prevent this, well, to communicate better and more clearly the companies/organizations
objectives and goals. Also maybe have shorter follow ups for a new remote team. Usually,
we are working in so called sprints of four weeks, where you have a bigger meeting every
fourth week to feedback the work that has been within that sprint “.

According to Sweden, conflicts in remote teams can arise when team members are able to
see each other's statistics and engage in competition. The conflict arises from conflicting
organizational cultures where individuals strive to outperform each other. To address this,
the respondent suggests making negative statistics more anonymous, ensuring that a specific
person cannot be directly linked to negative actions. They also recommend keeping negative
feedback private, visible only to managers and not shared with the entire team. By
implementing these measures, conflicts can be prevented and minimized. The lessons
learned from this experience highlight the importance of creating a culture that focuses on
collaboration and cooperation rather than competition. By fostering an environment that
values teamwork and supports individual growth without creating unhealthy rivalries, future
conflicts can be avoided in remote teams.

From the responses, it was clear that conflicts due to organizational culture were rare in
remote teams. Most of the respondents lacked direct examples of such conflicts.

4.5.5 Communication Tools and Autonomy

Collaboration and communication were other factors that the study sought to examine. The
study examined the communication and collaboration tools and how remote employees
balanced between collaboration and communication with individual autonomy and
flexibility.

To understand the collaboration tools, the study used the question: “How do you
communicate within your remote team? Which channels do you use?” Conclusions were
drawn from the responses.

Albania and Japan primarily relies on Slack for quick and efficient communication within
their remote team, stating that it is a chat client used for fast and quick chatting.
Additionally, they utilize Microsoft Teams for video meetings, indicating that it serves as
their primary channel for conducting virtual meetings and discussions. By utilizing these
communication tools, they ensures effective and convenient communication within their
remote team.

Poland responded that their remote team utilizes Skype and Prat as their primary
communication channels. Poland mentions that their organization, has restrictions on using
cloud-based services, which is why they rely on Skype for communication. They also
mention using Prat as a replacement for Slack, describing it as a forum that they use within
the project. These channels are chosen based on their compatibility with the organization's
policies and the need for effective communication within the remote team.

Hungary mentions using Microsoft Teams as a communication channel within the remote
team. However, the mention of "complex facilities with advanced technology that records
your whole body" is unclear in the context of team communication. It may be unrelated to
the communication channels used within the remote team.

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According to the response from Sweden, the remote team primarily uses Microsoft Teams
for communication. They utilize this platform for meetings, suggesting that it serves as a
virtual meeting room for team discussions. Additionally, the respondent mentions using chat
functionality within Microsoft Teams for short and fast communication. This indicates that
team members can engage in real-time conversations through instant messaging.
Furthermore, the respondent highlights the presence of a group chat or forum specific to
each remote team, which serves as a space for support and collaborative interactions among
team members. Andorra mentions using Microsoft Teams and email, indicating that these
are the primary channels for their team's communication.

From the response, most remote teams employ Microsoft teams for communication. It was
also shown that other collaboration tools like slack, skype, and prat were utilized, as well as
emails to communicate.

The other question within collaboration and communication theme were: “How do you
balance the need for collaboration and communication with individual autonomy and
flexibility?”

Albania emphasizes the challenge of balancing collaboration and individual flexibility,

particularly at the beginning of a project. They emphasize the importance of clear
communication to minimize misunderstandings and promote open communication within
the team. The respondent mentions having a forum or chat where team members can seek
clarification and help each other, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This helps
improve collaboration and enables individuals to plan their flexibility effectively. The
respondent concludes that good communication of goals and tasks enhances individual
autonomy within the team.

According to Poland, the balance between collaboration and individual autonomy/flexibility

is a consideration in managing remote teams. The respondent experiences that the natural
learning and quick help that comes from sitting next to someone in an office is missing in
remote teams. However, they emphasize the importance of allowing remote teams to set up
their own rules and working arrangements that suit them while ensuring tasks are completed
on time. The focus is on promoting collaboration by establishing consistent schedules for
team members, such as working the same days in the office and the same days from home.
This approach facilitates better collaboration and communication within the team, despite
the flexibility offered by remote work.

According to Hungary, balancing the need for collaboration and communication with
individual autonomy and flexibility is crucial in both remote and physical work settings.
They believe that remote meetings provide a sense of freedom for individuals compared to
in-person meetings. The key to maintaining this balance is for the manager to provide
support and collaboration without micromanaging their remote workers. They emphasize
the importance of trust and supervision, ensuring that workers have the autonomy to work
independently while still receiving appropriate guidance and oversight. The goal is to find
a middle ground where individuals can work autonomously while feeling supported by their
manager, as Hungary stated, “I think that people feel freer with remote meetings rather than
live meetings. It’s important to balance the individual autonomy of remote workers with
collaboration and support from the manager. The manager should never manage their
remote workers in detail, that way the workers would be tired. But this applies to remote
setting as well as physical setting. The balance between letting them work on their own and
control what they are doing is important. As a manager you need to trust your workers
although with good supervision (but not controlling) “.

53
Sweden explained that there is a need to balance collaboration and communication with
individual autonomy and flexibility within the remote team. The respondent explains that at
their company, they have a rule where employees are required to be at the office for at least
two days a week. This is done to ensure that there is chemistry between team members and
to create a sense of teamwork. The respondent believes that working remotely without
physically seeing each other can lead to a weaker working environment. By having a
combination of office and remote work, the respondent believes they have found a balance
that allows for collaboration and team cohesion while also providing individual flexibility.

Andorra experiences the benefits of remote work in balancing collaboration and

communication with individual autonomy and flexibility. They express that working in
remote teams is advantageous because it is easier to connect with team members using
technology such as Microsoft Teams. The respondent highlights the usefulness of features
like the availability indicator, which helps them determine if their high-level bosses are busy
or available for communication. They believe that remote work has improved collaboration
and communication because it is now easier to reach out and connect with team members.
This suggests that the respondent finds a balance between collaboration and individual
autonomy by taking advantage of the convenience and accessibility provided by remote
work technologies.

According to Japan, they strive to have a balance between collaboration and individual
autonomy within their remote team. They aim to foster a positive and helpful climate that
encourages collaboration despite the flexibility that team members have. Regular remote
meetings are held every other day to ensure communication and check-in on the progress of
the project and the dynamics within the group. By maintaining tight check-ins and
establishing a structure for communication, Japan believes they can achieve a good balance
between individual autonomy and collaboration in the team.

From the responses, it is clear that organizations have developed a way for remote
employees to engage. However, the respondents explain the need to allow remote team to
have their own plans of work. They explain that collaboration technologies have made it
easier for collaboration. These technologies allow remote employees to schedule and
communicate.

In addition, a complementary question was asked in case respondents had additional

information to provide, this question was: Do you want to add something else about conflict
management in remote teams that aren’t covered by the previous questions that you think
is important?

In response to this question, most respondents explained that they did not have additional
information to add on. However, Andorra also highlighted the specific challenge of
language barriers in remote teams, particularly when working with individuals from
different cultural backgrounds. Andorra mentions that conflicts often arise due to
misunderstandings caused by the language barrier. They suggest that these conflicts would
be less likely to occur in a physical setting where body language and other non-verbal cues
can aid in understanding. This perspective sheds light on the importance of effective
communication and the potential difficulties faced in remote teams with diverse linguistic
and cultural backgrounds, as Andorra stated, “I work a lot with Japanese people since our
Company is a part of a big Japanese Group and often conflicts arise in remote teams
because we misunderstand each other. The large part of the misunderstandings is the
language barrier, we have a hard time understanding what each other mean. These conflicts

54
would never arise in a physical setting because it’s much easier to be understood when you
can use body language, writing on the white board etc. “.

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 5.0 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter analyzes the current study and discusses the findings. The chapter are divided
into three sections. The first section will begin by going into the difficulties due to the unique
challenges remote teamwork are facing. The second section analyzes common causes of
conflicts in remote teams. Lastly, the third section, analyses conflict management strategies
for remote teams. The themes that emerged in our data were: interpersonal connections,
trust, communication, explicit management, and compromise.

5.1 UNIQUE CHALLENGES IN REMOTE TEAMS

This section will present and discuss the unique challenges that remote teams are facing,
linking our findings to existing theories. The unique challenges for remote teams that
appeared in our findings are difficulties to maintain effective communication through
distance, as well as establishing trust and interpersonal connections. Additionally, a unique
challenge for remote teams are technological understanding and skills using communication
tools.

5.1.1 Communication
Remote work settings present unique challenges for teams and their managers. One of the
primary themes that emerged from the findings was the need for more communication and
availability. Participants consistently highlighted the difficulty of maintaining effective
communication channels and ensuring clear and timely information exchange in remote
teams. Most respondents saw this challenge as the biggest obstacle, emphasizing the
importance of finding effective ways to overcome it. Our findings are supported by the study
of Ford et al. (2017, p. 26), who points out the importance in establishing a policy of work
process in remote teams to enhance communication between team members. Our findings
revealed that the remote teamwork setting often inhibits team members from speaking up
as they would in a face-to-face environment, which further aggravates the communication
challenge. Additionally our study noted that the nature of collaborative fields such as
software development further amplifies the significance of effective communication in
remote teams, which can be supported by effective team management, Bjørn et al. (2014, p.
18) who argues that remote work doesn’t hinder communication skills, on the opposite their
study shows that teams working with closely coupled tasks requires more interactions
between team members which are forcing them to get to know each other better and
strengthens communication skills and collaboration in the team.

5.1.2 Trust and Interpersonal Connections

Another challenge demonstrated in the findings is the need for more development of
interpersonal connections. Building chemistry and trust among team members was a unique
challenge in remote teams. Daily social interactions and communication could have helped
the development of trust, particularly in new remote team. Respondents suggested building
trust among team members should reduce risks for conflicts. Establishing trust becomes
even more challenging as remote teams need more opportunity for in-person interaction and
casual conversations that contribute to relationship-building. The findings from our study
are supported by Damian & Zowoghi (2002, p. 5-6) who concludes that interpersonal
relationship and trust in traditional environment is strengthened by small talk at
lunchbreaks, when waiting before meetings etc. Morrison-Smith & Ruiz (2020, p. 11)
claims that communication in remote teams is hindered by the lack of non-verbal cues,
which is in line with our findings. Our study shows that limitations of observing everyone's
body language in a remote setting also make it difficult to gauge reactions and emotions
accurately, leading to uncertainty in communication dynamics. The difficulty of providing
constructive criticism in a remote work setting was also highlighted by respondents.

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5.1.3 Technological Understanding and Communication Tools
Moreover, technological understanding emerged from our findings as another challenge in
working and managing remote teams. Ensuring that everyone understands the technology
used for remote communication was emphasized as crucial to avoid interruptions during
meetings and maintain effective collaboration. This challenge highlights the need for teams
to have a solid grasp of the tools and platforms they rely on to enable remote work without
interruptions, which Ford et al (2017, p.26) also points out being of high importance in
remote teamwork setting.

5.2 COMMON CAUSES OF CONFLICTS IN REMOTE TEAMS

This section will present and discuss the common causes of conflicts due to the unique
challenges that remote teams are facing, connecting our findings to existing theories. The
common causes of conflicts in remote teams that appeared in our findings are poor
communication, lack of trust and interpersonal connections, low technological
understanding, and bad structure in communication and work process.

5.2.1 Poor Communication

Poor communication within remote teams often leads to misunderstandings, incorrect
prioritization, and conflicts. Poorly communicated planning and goals are highlighted in our
study as triggers for conflicts, emphasizing the importance of clear and effective
communication channels to avoid misunderstandings, our findings are supported by DuBrin
(2018, p. 281) who argues that unclear communication of goals, responsibilities, roles, and
timelines can lead to misunderstanding, disagreements, and conflicts. Respondents
emphasized that absence of personal conversations and limited opportunities for
understanding each other's thoughts and priorities contribute to conflicts in remote work
settings, which is in line with Morley et al. (2015, p. 194) who indicates that these factors
contribute to conflicts in remote teams. Our study also revealed that missing out on
important information due to poor communication aggravates conflicts in remote teams as
well as disagreements about decisions and conflicting perspectives on how to proceed can
also lead to disputes, highlighting the importance of effective communication and
understanding in remote work environments. Our study shows that absence of visual cues
and body language behind screens can lead to misinterpretation or misunderstanding of
feedback, making it challenging to ensure a shared understanding among team members. It
was also noted in our study that remote work could hinder communication skills,
necessitating team members to be even more explicit and clear when presenting information
remotely. Our findings are in line with Newman et al. (2020, p. 456) who stress the
importance of clear communication to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to conflicts in
remote teams.

5.2.2 Lack of Trust and Interpersonal Connection

A significant cause of conflicts in remote teams, that our findings show, is the need for more
trust and interpersonal connections, respondents emphasized absence of trust among team
members as a significant factor contributing to conflicts. Building and maintaining trust
within remote teams, especially in newly formed teams, is crucial to minimizing conflicts.
Missing out on daily physical interactions and informal communication makes it harder to
get to know each other’s thoughts, preferences, habits etc. which contributes to interpersonal
relationships. The lack of chemistry, confidence, understanding, and commitment to a
common goal among team members can create tension and increase the likelihood of
conflicts, which is supported by Daim et al. (2012, p. 203-204) as they indicate that
establishing trust in a remote teamwork setting is difficult since informal communication is
limited. Our study revealed that trust plays a particularly important role in fields like IT and
programming, where teamwork is essential due to the need of close communication and

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frequent interaction with others to accomplish the task. As our findings showed that when
team members are not acquainted it is harder to trust each other’s work. Furthermore, our
findings showed that difficulties reaching out to each other for assistance or questions when
you need, can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. Our findings show that establishing
trust and fostering strong interpersonal connections among team members are crucial steps
toward conflict prevention in remote teams (Schein & Schein, 2017, p. 22).

5.2.3 Technological Understanding and Structure

One of respondents highlighted that lack of preparation before remote meetings, inadequate
analysis and presentations of information could contribute to conflicts in the team as well
as interruption or delays which is caused by people not being able to handle the technical
equipment, which is supported by Ford et al. (2017, p. 26) who stress the importance for
virtual communication is to provide reliable tools as well as training in technical skills.
Obscurity from managers can lead to conflicts within remote teams, respondents highlighted
clarifying task-prioritizing and responsibilities are crucial to avoid conflicts due to
obscurity. Dissidents, characterized by highly skilled individuals seeking to assert their
expertise and conflicting opinions, the desire to be correct and the notion of prestige can
also trigger conflicts in remote teams according to our findings.

Hooijberg (1996, p. 919) highlights leaders ability to adopt different leadership style
depending on the situation, which is in line with our findings where respondents suggested
that thorough preparation for remote meetings, structured meetings to establish alignment,
effective communication, clear objectives, and conflict management strategies tailored to
the specific types of conflicts that arise are essential to resolve different types of conflicts,
for example conflicts between individuals on a personal level or disputes over how to
perform a task.

Table 5. Presenting the challenges and causes of conflicts in remote teams.

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5.3 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
This section will present and analyze the conflict management strategies that emerged in
our study based on the challenges and causes of conflicts in remote teams. The conflict
management strategies are to enhance communication and provide structure, building trust
and interpersonal connections, practicing explicit management, and use compromising as a
conflict resolution strategy.

5.3.1 Enhance Communication and Provide Structure

Kahai et al. (2012, p. 717), argues that the possibility to work from any place at any time
certainly can add value to organizations, on the other hand the complexity in managing
teams working remotely increases, which is in line with the findings from our study where
respondents working as managers highlighted the difficulties in managing their remote
team. Our study's findings explain that good communication is critical in solving conflicts
among remote teams. Our study highlights the necessity of clear and open communication
in remote work contexts when obtaining quick assistance is more difficult than in an office
setting, which is also supported by Ford et al. (2017, p. 31) that emphasizes the importance
of clear communication to address and prevent conflicts. Respondents stressed the need for
managers to prioritize and encourage communication within the remote team, ensuring team
members feel comfortable reaching out for assistance. This accessibility and emphasis on
communication aid in conflict resolution according to our findings. Our findings also
underscore the difficulties in recognizing and resolving conflicts in a remote work
environment lacking physical cues and contact, which is supported by Morrison-Smith &
Ruiz (2020, p. 11). Conflicts due to communication breakdowns and misinterpretation
among team members are found in our study which matches with Daim et al. (2012, p. 203-
204) who say that failure in communication is a leading factor that creates conflicts.
However, our findings shows that the approach to conflict resolution remained consistent,
involving active listening, engaging in discussions, and reaching agreements ensuring that
team members involved should feel heard.

Ford et al. (2017, p. 26) stress the importance for virtual communication is to provide
reliable tools as well as training in technical skills. Organizations have adopted numerous
solutions to support efficient collaboration since remote teams’ cooperation and
communication are critical factors, which is also supported by Daim et al. (2012, p. 203-
204) who stresses the importance to establish relevant communication sources and strategies
for successful team performance and avoiding communication breakdowns leading to
conflicts, which aligns with our findings. Our study revealed that remote teams employed
various collaboration tools for effective communication. According to the responses,
Microsoft Teams is frequently used for remote team collaboration as a platform for video
meetings, chat features, and group forums. Respondents recommended Slack for rapid and
effective communication, whereas others suggested Skype and Prat as key communication
platforms. Furthermore, our findings showed that some distant teams continue to
communicate via email. Respondents points out that employment of technologies is
determined by their company policies and the necessity for effective team communication.

To avoid misunderstandings and conflict triggers, respondents in our study highlights the
need for clear and open communication, as well as the establishment of clear aims,
expectations, and aids in the prevention of conflicts and misunderstandings. Respondents
provide examples of such strategies including, allowing everyone to voice their thoughts,
actively seeking feedback, and offering clear explanations and active support to reduce
misunderstandings. Espinosa & Carmel, (2004, p. 1) states in their article that
misunderstanding, and mistakes are more likely to occur when employees lack shared
knowledge since, they don't have as many chances to talk to each other during the workday

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which can make schedules to clash, and the need for careful planning is crucial to avoid
project delays. This supports our findings since respondents highlighted the importance of
clear communication and open channels for seeking clarification and assistance within the
group. Establishing consistent schedules for remote work and in-office presence to promote
collaboration and ensure tasks were completed on time was suggested by our findings.

Ford et al. (2017, p. 26) provides a relevant theoretical framework of remote work processes
to reduce obstacles inherent in remote teams, which is also supported by our respondents
that stressed the importance of increased communication, scheduling more meetings, and
providing platforms for the open expression of thoughts and opinions. However, the
findings showed that respondents experienced that while conflicts could be resolved
remotely, it was inherently more challenging due to the limitations caused by distance.
Furthermore, our findings showed that team performance is affected by high levels of
remote work and the complexity of the task, which increases the chance of errors and
misunderstandings. Respondents highlighted the need for close and effective
communication within the team, which is supported by (Olson & Olson, 2006, p. 101).

Our findings revealed that a closely coupled type of work, conflicts can arise when team
members hold different opinions or approaches, leading to conflicting perspectives.
Respondents emphasized the importance of team leader to enhance collaboration avoid team
members disagreeing about how the work is distributed, how the task should be performed
as well as ensuring team members aren’t working with irrelevant tasks, our findings are
supported by Pasaribu (2015, p. 69) and Tortorella and Fogliatto (2017, p. 948-949) who
says that leaders main objective is to concentrate on relationship and coaching, rather than
telling people what to do.

5.3.2 Building Trust and Interpersonal Connections

DuBrin (2018, p. 92-93) describes transformational leadership as leaders’ ability to inspire
and motivate team members to attain collective goals. Transformational leadership theory
can be a successful approach to improve the performance of teams. Further, DuBrin (2018,
p. 92-93) elaborates on the importance of trust and commitment to a common goal. Our
findings support the theory of transformational leadership. Consistently respondents in our
study emphasized building interpersonal relationship and trust is of outmost importance in
creating a collaborative, peaceful team climate with clear and open communication. One
can argue that, by fostering interpersonal relationship and trust within the team will make
the team members rely on each other’s work and reduce the risk for conflicts arising. Our
study revealed that some of the respondents acknowledged distance are not affecting the
conflict itself but significantly affected conflict management, which contradicts with
existing literature that claims distance affects conflicts in remote teams (Cummings, 2011,
p. 26; Morrison-Smith & Ruiz, 2020, p. 11). Additionally, the findings highlighted the initial
phases of a project when team members are unacquainted as particularly challenging for
remote teams, as establishing chemistry, trust, and effective communication are more
difficult, which can lead to conflicts arising from a lack of trust and missed information.
Our findings showed that respondents acknowledged building trust and internal relationship
as a conflict management strategy, meaning preventing conflicts triggering. Respondents
highlighted the need for meetings beyond work-related topics and stressed the importance
of team leaders’ ability to create chemistry and personal relationships through physical
meetings, workshops, team-building activities, and after-work gatherings. These sessions
allow team members to communicate and establish connection, encouraging greater
chemistry among remote teams. Our findings highlighted that conflicts may be avoided in
the first place by fostering interpersonal relationships and trust among team members. By
following these methods, managers may proactively handle conflicts and build a peaceful,

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collaborative work environment which is also argued by Damian and Zowghi (2002, p. 5-
6) and Schein and Schein (2017, p. 22), who stresses the importance of promoting team trust
and make everyone feel committed to the same goal to establish a common ground.

Trust and supervision were seen by respondents as essential in maintaining a balance

between autonomy and cooperation, allowing individuals to work independently while
receiving appropriate guidance and support, which Olson and Olson (2006, p. 101) also
states. Responses also indicated that organizations implemented strategies to foster
collaboration and teamwork. Some of the responses showed that organizations require
remote employees to spend a minimum of days in the office to facilitate chemistry and team
cohesion as well as respondents mentioned regular remote meetings to ensure
communication and project progress check-ins, establishing a structure for effective
collaboration. Saleem et al. (2019, p. 305) explains empowerment leadership as giving team
members freedom with responsibility, while also encourage and enhance their work.
Further, Saleem et al. (2019, p. 305) elaborates that team members functioning under highly
supportive leadership will improve their situational judgment and their remote collaboration
habits. Our findings support the theory on empowerment leadership, organizations clearly
understand the need to combine cooperation and communication with autonomy and
flexibility in remote teams. Respondents explained the need for clear communication, open
forums for explanation, and assistance from supervisors who do not micromanage.
Respondents provided strategies for achieving this balance included creating consistent
timetables, integrating office and remote work, and employing technology to link team
members. From the answer in our study one can understand that organizations have
implemented collaboration technologies and practices that enable successful
communication and cooperation while preserving workers autonomy and flexibility in
remote work settings.

5.3.3 Explicit Management

From our study, respondents experienced those managers who trusted the team members,
were ready to listen and actively consider alternative points of view were more effective in
managing conflict in remote teams. Our findings revealed that issues in remote teams were
easily resolved by active listening, openness, and flexibility by putting aside their egos and
using explicit management, which is in line with Ford et al. (2017, p. 29) explaining
practicing explicit management, which means that leaders must adapt their leadership to the
various situations and type of conflict, can help resolving conflicts. In our findings this
strategy allowed the management to gather diverse viewpoints and develop a collaborative
decision-making process, resulting in successful conflict resolution. Additionally, the
findings showed that the remote team's conflict resolution was aided by the emphasis on
inclusion and lowered personal ego, which is in line with Mayer et al. (2022, p. 91) who
stated that a shared leadership, defined as sharing responsibilities and decision making
among team members to foster internal connections and trust can enhance conflict
management in remote teams, is known to be a successful approach in existing literature.
Our findings indicate that the shared leadership theory is applicable in a remote team
context. Our study confirms the findings of Olson and Olson (2006, p. 101) who stress the
need for regular check-ins and personal contact in remote teams to obtain greater control
over team dynamics and avoid disputes.

Respondents also raise the difficulties of managing conflicts remotely and recognize that
in-person meetings or physical office settings can enable better conflict resolution due to
the complexity of conflicts and the need for deeper understanding and connection. They
admit, however, that in many circumstances, meeting in person may not be possible and that
appropriate distant conflict management strategies must be employed. Furthermore, several

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respondents emphasize the importance of preventing conflicts wherever possible by taking
proactive actions such as clear communication, encouraging open conversation, and
resolving issues openly rather than deferring them. They also emphasize the need for
managers to be present and support remote teams, as their availability can lead to quick
solution, but also preventing conflicts to occur. Parasibu (2015, p. 69) explains practicing
situational leadership includes delegating, participating, coaching, and directing which
aligns with our findings. Jones et al. (1976, p. 250) describes five different approaches to
practice in conflict management, competing, collaborating, avoiding, cooperative and
compromising, which is consistent with our results where respondents suggested that team
leaders should adapt their leadership style depending on the situation, type of conflict and
dignity of disagreement. Respondents in our study also brought up that relationship-related
conflicts arising from unsatisfied employees could be managed explicitly and was best
resolved through physical meetings and direct engagement with affected parties. Tjosvold
et al. (2006, p. 231-232) supports our findings and emphasizes approaching conflicts have
a decisive effect on outcome and the importance of understanding if the conflict is task-
related or relationship-related might need either a competitive or cooperative-collaborative
approach in conflict resolution method.

Cheng et al. (2016, p. 268), claims that differences in team members values, norms,
attitudes, customs, traditions, and habits can lead to misaligned expectations and failing to
align incentives appropriately can trigger conflicts in a remote team. In our findings, two of
the respondents had experienced conflicts arising because of the internal corporate culture.
The first respondent had experienced conflicts that led to people quitting their jobs due to a
lack of understanding of how the organization functions. To prevent such conflicts, the
respondent emphasizes the importance of managers improved and clearer communication
regarding the objectives and goals of the company or organization. They also suggest
implementing shorter follow-up sessions for new remote teams. The second respondent
mentioned that the competitive mentality that the company encouraged by openly reporting
the team's errors and performance to the entire organization led to conflicts between team
members. To combat this, they suggested making unfavorable data anonymous and keeping
negative comments private, emphasizing managers to cultivate a culture of collaboration
and cooperation rather than competition, which is supported by Hardin et al. (2007, p. 136)
who states that depending on the individualistic-collectivist dimension makes some culture
more open to remote teamwork than others.

Respondents noted that the culture of their IT sector and software development
organization, managers support collaboration and mutual aid, which helps to avoid disputes.
This implies that a good cultural value of collaboration and support helps to reduce conflicts
within the organization, which is supported by the study of Bjørn et al. (2014, p. 18).
Furthermore, respondents emphasized the importance of creating a supportive and
collaborative environment, where feedback is delivered constructively, and mistakes are
seen as learning opportunities. Additionally, respondents highlighted addressing
competitiveness within the organizational culture and promoting teamwork can help reduce
conflicts in remote teams.

5.3.4 Compromising
Our findings reveal that a critical feature of conflict resolution in remote teams is a
compromise strategy, where all parties engaged in the disagreement are equally unsatisfied
or satisfied. Respondents suggest that a compromising method should seek a balanced
solution that considers many aspects and interests, ensuring choices are made in the best
interests of all parties. Goltsman et al. (2009, p. 1398) suggest negotiation and mediation
are the most common ways to reach a compromise which aligns with our findings.

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According to Yin et al. (2022, p. 4) team leaders’ choice of approach to conflict and their
role in conflict management is decisive, those who encourage cooperation in discussions to
how a conflict should be solved are more likely to establish trust and foster relationships
among team members which makes them feel safe to speak up and express their opinion.
On the opposite those who thinks that they have the “only” solution and aren’t listening to
others opinion will create a team climate where members feel insecure. As our findings
revealed that conflicts may arise when the manager prioritizes efficiency and quick results
while team members prioritize customer satisfaction or other aspects of the work one can
argue that differing approaches to managing tasks and priorities between team members and
managers can lead to disagreements and conflicts. Additionally, one respondent in our study
points out that in their organization, conflicts concerning task related disagreements are
often resolved by the highest boss making the decision of how to proceed, one can argue
whether it is wise to rely on one person in decision making generates the best possible
outcome for the organization as a whole, however some situations require a quick resolution
of the conflict in order not to miss deadlines or if the conflict is of minor importance, which
is in line with literature describing competing and accommodating style of conflict
management, (Jones, 1976, p. 250). Our findings suggest that respondents preferred a
collaborative or compromising approach to conflict resolution as they sought to gain all
perspectives and opinions to resolve the disagreement, which is in line with Thomas &
Killman’s theory (Jones, 1976, p. 250).

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Table 6. Presentation of the three common causes of conflicts in remote teams and strategies
for preventing, mitigating, and resolving conflicts in order to enhance team collaboration.

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Table 7. Presenting conflict management strategies and practical conflict resolution
methods.

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 6.0 CONCLUSION
This chapter will first conclude the study and present our key findings. Secondly this chapter
will present the theoretical contributions of the study to existing literature, followed by the
practical contributions and societal implications. Lastly, the chapter will present this
study’s limitations and suggestions for further research.

6.1 CONCLUSION
Our study identified that working in a remote setting significantly affected teamwork and
could also affect team performance. That conflicts arise in teamwork is almost inevitable,
however, our results show that conflicts in remote teamwork that would have been relatively
easy to resolve in a physical environment are more difficult to resolve on distance.
Additionally, our findings showed that addressing disagreements on an early stage is crucial
to avoid conflicts escalate. Our purpose of this study was to examine challenges, conflict
causes and efficient conflict resolution strategies in remote teams. To fulfill the purpose,
the following research question was identified:

What are the unique challenges of conflict management in remote teams, main causes of
conflicts in remote teams and how can they be resolved effectively?

The conditions for collaboration in remote teams are challenging and increases the demand
of effective managers. According to our respondents’ lack of physical interaction is the main
issue working remotely, as communication and collaboration within the group suffers, as
well as the possibility of creating personal relationships is reduced. The unique challenges
remote teams are facing is communicating on distance, building trust and interpersonal
connections within the team, as well as understanding technology and tools used for
communication. If these challenges are not properly addressed conflicts may arise. There
are three primary causes of conflicts, these are: One, poor communication, meaning
misunderstandings and misinterpretations about what and how and when tasks are to be
performed and by whom. Additionally, our respondents acknowledged that well-intentioned
constructive criticism could sometimes be misinterpreted and instead of fulfilling its
purpose, people took offense, causing conflicts to arise. Two, lack of trust and interpersonal
connections, meaning missing out of daily physical interactions makes it harder to get to
know each other leading to insufficient collaboration, weakened team cohesion, mistrust,
and conflicts within the team. Three, technological understanding and structure, meaning
lack of preparation before remote meetings, inadequate analysis and presentations of
information can cause conflicts in the team, additionally conflicts can occur by interruptions
or delays which is caused by people not being able to handle the technical equipment.

To prevent and deal with conflicts in remote teams our study found four conflict
management strategies. These strategies are to enhance communication and provide
structure, build trust and encourage interpersonal connections in the team, practicing
explicit management (adopt different leadership styles to various situations), and use
compromising in conflict resolution. Our findings presented several practical suggestions
for strategies that the manager/leader could use in conflict management to prevent conflicts,
for example active listening, supporting, focusing on team members well-being, scheduling
recurring remote meetings that are not solely focused on work-related matters, organizing
team building activities, after-work gatherings etc. Additionally, the respondents
acknowledged the importance of team leader’s role providing the group with
communication platforms to ensure that everyone in the team always has the same
information and clearly communicate responsibilities, tasks, and goals as well as scheduling
regular remote meetings for interactions and information exchange.

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On the other hand, our findings indicated that if their team experiences a conflict, our
respondents preferred a collaborative approach in conflict management trying to involve all
parties to allow everyone to discuss their views with the aim of reaching an agreement where
everyone is satisfied or, if not possible, reaching a compromise. Additionally, our findings
revealed that respondents in some critical conflict situations thought the best way to
resolution is to set up a physical meeting. Our findings highlight that team leaders play a
crucial role in preventing, addressing and handling conflicts, which one can argue requires
a leader who can adapt his leadership style in various situations, i.e. explicit management.

6.2 THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Our findings contribute to existing literature with four conflict management strategies in
remote teams. These are to enhance communication and provide structure, build trust and
encourage interpersonal connections in the team, practicing explicit management (adopt
different leadership styles to various situations), and use compromising in conflict
resolution. Poor communication is the main cause to conflicts in remote teams according to
our findings and can affect both task-related conflicts and relationship-related conflicts
which confirms the findings of Ford et al. (2017, p. 26). Additionally, our findings of
providing structure complement the findings of Daim et al. (2012, p. 203-204) who
highlights the importance to establish relevant communication sources and strategies for
successful team performance in order to avoid communication breakdowns leading to
conflicts. This study can also conclude that building interpersonal connections and
establishing trust within the team are major conflict management strategies to prevent
conflicts. Our findings complement existing literature by Daiman & Zowghi (2002, p. 5-6)
on the importance of building team chemistry. Approaching conflicts in a collaborative or
compromising way was shown by our study to be the most constructive strategy in
managing conflicts and, most employed by our respondents and the findings adds to existing
body of knowledge (Tjosvold et al., 2006, p. 235).

Furthermore, our findings emphasize the need for managers to be present and support
remote teams, as their availability can lead to quick solution, but also preventing conflicts
to occur which complement the findings of Parasibu (2015, p. 69) who emphasizes the
importance of situational leadership depending on various situations and conflicts.

Overall, this study complements existing theories on the subject. Although the studys’
contribution to new theories is scarce. However, existing literature on the specific subject
conflict management in remote teams are lacking empirical research (Tavoletti & Taras,
2023, p. 1086). Due to the scarce literature on the subject this study contributed with
additional empirical data.

6.3 PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

The study has contributions for managers when preventing and resolving conflicts in remote
teams. Managers must acknowledge employees need for effective communication and the
need to connect at an interpersonal level in reducing conflicts and other types of undesired
behavior. To ensure effective communication, it is the managers duty to provide
technological training and reliable communication tools, as well as creating a good structure
for teamwork, such as communicating clear goals, expectations, planning, distribution, and
prioritizing of work tasks. In order to increase collaboration and avoid conflicts, it is crucial
for managers to encourage an open communication climate where team members feel
confident and dare to express their views and come up with new ideas. In an open
communication climate, mistakes or “stupid” questions are seen as lessons to learn instead
of punishment for doing a mistake or missing out on knowledge. Through proactively
actions managers can mitigate conflicts as well as preventing conflicts to occur. They would

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also be wise to pay more attention to team formation, as personal connection is of great
importance within remote teams. Building trust enhance the possibility for interpersonal
connections and will for sure improve communication within the team. Our study
contributes with some practical actions enabling managers to establish trust and preventing
conflicts. By listening actively to catch early signs of tension in the team, managers can
address conflicts arising enabling them to make a quick solution of disagreements, hindering
the conflict to escalate. Our suggestion is also that mangers should be supporting, focusing
on team members well-being (balance autonomy and supervision), scheduling recurring
remote meetings that are not solely focused on work-related matters, organizing team
building activities, and after-work gatherings. By following these recommendations remote
teams can overcome distance limitations and work together harmoniously toward shared
goals, maintaining a productive workplace.

In addition, this study contributed with an explicit management approach to conflicts, where
respondents recognized that conflicts may arise due to different situations, and the need for
managers to adopt their leadership style to the various situations, such as listening to other
point of views and putting aside their own ego. Furthermore, when conflicts of higher
dignity arise, it is important to find out what the conflict is about and the underlying causes
to it, hold meetings with the parties concerned where everyone can express their view on
the matter in order to arrive at a solution where everyone is equally satisfied or dissatisfied
i.e., using a compromising strategy.

6.4 SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS

The trend towards increased remote teamwork and conflict management in this context has
societal implications. The growing prevalence of remote teamwork requires an increased
emphasis on technological understanding. Education in digital competence already in
elementary school is necessary in order not to exclude people from the labor market in the
future. As conflict resolution often takes place through digital channels it is important that
organizations and individuals has a code of conduct in the way of communicating. One must
be aware that sensitive information and personal data communicated via digital channels
can infringe on privacy and data security in conflict resolution processes, prompting
discussions about the ethical use of technology to manage conflicts.

As remote teams often are geographical distributed with members from different cultures,
effective conflict management may require a deeper understanding of cultural nuances.
Society may place a greater emphasis on cross-cultural competence to bridge
communication gaps and minimize misunderstandings.

Conflicts and how they are handled within remote teams can impact the mental health and
overall well-being of team members. Isolation, stress and conflicts associated with remote
teamwork may contribute to a higher degree of mental health issues and increased resources
are needed for health and medical care.

6.5 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

The study was limited to examine Swedish companies, which to some extent has limited the
study to be used globally. As we only focused on four Swedish companies, the study may
not be applicable on other countries since differences in values, norms, and habits may affect
the study’s transferability.

Another limitation of the study was the gender difference, since this may affect how remote
workers perceive the leadership. Our study had a sample of five men and one woman which
was a limitation due to the research of Avolio et al. (2014, p. 113) who claims that group

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members perceive management performed by men and women differently. In addition, a
larger sample would have given us more data on the specific factors as each individual
respondent in this study had not encountered conflicts or conflict management in their
remote team within all these factors.

Existing studies doesn’t cover the need for additional preparation needed for meetings in
remote teams or emphasizes the importance of it, however this study provided aspects of
being extra prepared for remote meetings compared to meetings in an office setting in order
to prevent conflicts. Our findings emphasized preparation as extra important in remote
teams, although, the findings were too scarce to draw conclusions of how this aspect relates
to conflicts and conflict management. Therefore, future research is suggested on this
subject.

Additionally, this study doesn’t include objective metrics which makes it hard to understand
the impact of a conflict in a remote team, to their overall team performance. We suggest
further research on the subject “conflicts and conflict management in remote teams“ to add
additional factors on the impact that conflicts can have on team performance in remote
teams, such as delays, economic impact, quality, achievement etc. To address the impact of
conflicts on team performance and how to manage it, we would suggest a mixed method
study of qualitative and quantitative data.

Lastly, we can conclude from our research in this study that existing literature on the specific
subject of conflict management in remote teams are scarce, which is supported by Tavoletti
& Taras (2023, p. 1086), who argues that remote teams have progressively increased and
the need for more research on many aspects of the subject remote teams. Our study adds to
existing literature on that subject, although, much more and extensive research is needed on
the topic. Specifically, research on conflict management in remote teams where the nature
of work is closely coupled like software and R&D are suggested.

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 7.0 TRUTH CRITERIA
This chapter presents the truth criteria of the study. First will the chapter present the
credibility of the research, followed by the transferability. Additionally, will the
dependability be presented, and lastly the confirmability.

7.1 CRITERIAS FOR QUALITATIVE EVALUATION

To evaluate the ”truth criteria” in this study the researchers have followed four evaluation
criteria, namely: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability developed by
Lincoln & Guba (1985), referred in Korstjens and Moser (2018, p. 121). These four criteria
for evaluation will be discussed further in this chapter.

7.1.1 Credibility
Credibility (trustworthiness) is the first criteria for evaluation in qualitative research.
Credibility aims to describe if the study reflects the reality correctly. The gathered data for
the study are supposed to answer the purpose of the study (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 215).
The study sought to increase the credibility by using a purposive sampling method to ensure
that the participants gave valuable insights which are representable to a whole group within
the context of remote teams and conflicts. After each transcription of the interviews the
respondents got a copy of the transcribed and translated version of the interview to validate,
and if it correctly reflects what they said during the interviews, i.e. member-checking.
Bryman & Bell (2015, p. 411) supports this and emphasizes that respondent validation
increases the credibility of findings. However, one of the respondents never validated the
translation and transcription of their interview. Lastly, the credibility of the study was
enhanced due to our method of data collection. Meaning we purposively conducted
interviews with managers and remote team workers, in order to gain a deeper understanding
of both perspectives when addressing conflict management in remote teams (Korstjens &
Moser, 2018, p. 121).

7.1.2 Transferability
Transferability refers to the applicability of the study's findings into other context and are
the second criteria for qualitative research evaluation developed by Lincoln & Guba (1985),
referred in Korstjens & Moser, 2018, p. 121). Using a small sample, which qualitative
studies generally do, means that the possibility of applying the study in another context is
significantly reduced (Korstjens & Moser, 2018, p. 122). In this study, six participants were
used, which is an insufficient number to be able to transfer the results to other contexts.
Even though with only six participants, it is possible to transfer the results depending on
how well and detailed the study is presented (Korstjens & Moser, 2018, p. 122). The
researchers have done the best of their ability to detail the study, but we can conclude that
this study has too few participants to make any kind of generalization and apply the results
in other contexts. Korstjens & Moser (2018, p. 122) argues that a generalization of results
isn’t the purpose for qualitative studies. However, we can argue that this study has both
theoretical and practical value in the context of conflict management in remote teams
because of the diverse sample, in terms of industry, company, experience, and role. Though,
as we only focused on four Swedish companies, the study may not be applicable on other
countries since differences in values, norms, and habits may affect the study’s
transferability.

7.1.3 Dependability
The third criteria is dependability, which means how well the results of a qualitative study
are repeatable regardless of a change of the researchers or participants (Korstjens & Moser,
2018, p. 122). The dependability of the study was strengthened through external supervision

70
during the research process, the study was reviewed several times by a supervisor within
Umeå University along with four other students also writing qualitative degree projects. The
reviews contributed with several perspectives and thoughts on the research process to
enhance the dependability of the study. To further enhance the dependability of this study
we thoroughly explained the thematic analysis and its relation to our research design of the
study, which also Korstjens & Moser (2018, p. 122) claims is a factor for enhanced
dependability.

7.1.4 Confirmability
Confirmability is the fourth and last criteria developed by Lincoln & Guba (1985), referred
in Korstjens & Moser, 2018, p. 121). This criteria refers to the ability to confirm the results
of the study to align with thoughts of the respondents, meaning if the results are biased or
not (Korstjens & Moser, 2018, p. 122). To achieve confirmability in this study we have tried
to present the study as transparently as possible. We presented our pre-understandings of
the subject followed by our methodological approach to research to give the reader a clear
view of how we approached the research. Additionally, we enhanced the confirmability of
the study by explaining our subjectivity to the subject and our ability to distinguish our
subjectivity to the respondents’ answers. During the research process we also chose to
record the interviews to ease the transcriptions and avoid biases. The recording was done
with the participants approval.

71
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 Appendix 1: Interview Guide

RESEARCH QUESTION
1. What are the unique challenges and main causes of conflict management in remote teams,
and how can they be resolved effectively?

General) Background questions

1. What is your job title and can you please describe what your main duties are?
2. Can you describe how you are working with remote teams and for how long?
3. Can you estimate how much of your work consists of working in remote teams?
4. What are the unique challenges that you face with working in a team/managing a
team in a remote work setting?
5. What are common causes of conflicts in remote teams?
a) Impact of Distance on Conflict and Conflict management in Remote Teams
1. Have you seen distance impact conflict and conflict management in remote teams?
Can you share a specific example and how it was resolved?
b) Impact of explicit management on conflict and Conflict management in Remote
Teams?
1. Can you describe how explicit management has impacted conflict resolution in
remote teams that you have managed or been a part of? Have you seen any specific
examples where explicit management has helped prevent or resolve conflicts?
2. How do you approach conflict management in remote teams, and what strategies
have you found to be effective? Can you give an example of a particularly
challenging conflict that arose in a remote team you managed or was a part of. Did
explicit management play a role in resolving the conflict?
c) Impact of Organizational Culture on conflict and Conflict management in Remote
Teams
1. How do you think organizational culture leads to conflict in remote teams, and what
steps can be taken to foster a positive culture that minimizes conflicts?
2. Can you give an example of a conflict that arose in a remote team due to conflicting
organizational culture? How was the conflict resolved, and what lessons were
learned that could be applied to future situations?
d) Impact of Nature of Work on conflict and conflict management in Remote Teams
1. How do you think the nature of work affects conflict and conflict management in
remote teams? Can you provide some examples from your personal experience?
2. What strategies have you found to be effective in managing conflicts that arise in
remote teams with different natures of work?
e) Communication Tools and Autonomy
1. How do you communicate within your remote team? Which channels do you
use?
2. How do you balance the need for collaboration and communication with
individual autonomy and flexibility?
f) Additional questions
1. What strategies have you found to be the most effective ways to manage
conflicts in remote teams?

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2. Do you want to add something else about conflict management in remote teams
that aren’t covered by the previous questions that you think is important?

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Business Administration SE-901 87 Umeå www.usbe.umu.se

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