Van Zyl, H.Musgrave, Sarah2023-09-292023-09-292019http://hdl.handle.net/11660/12269Dissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2019Virtual teams (VTs) achieve shared goals despite not being co located, by relying on electronic communicati on media. The use of VTs trans pires into higher education (HE), allowing them to participate and compete in an ever changing world. In this study, the focus is on VTs that work on higher education projects in partnership with an online programme management (OPM) company in South Africa (SA). It provides the opportunity to study VTs not only in a single organisation, but between different organisations and at different levels between organisations. The study aims to investigate VTs, in particular the advanta ges, challenges and success fa ctors that contribute towards the performance of VTs. The study was an explorative qualitative case study, making use of nine semi structured interviews followed by a thematic analysis of the data. The experience and opinions of participants in this study were, in general, not surprising, and aligned with those documented in previous research studies. The participants did, however, confirm that VTs in combination with working virtually across two different organisations (Higher Ed Partners SA and HE institu tions) present unique challenges and advantages. The interviewees shared challenges that all VTs face, e.g. the absence of face to face contact, challenges caused by technology due to bandwidth issues and unstable internet con nections, and barriers to comm unication and the building of trust. However, circumstances beyond their control such as load shedding and on campus student riots added to a more complex work environment. The participants did, despite the challenges, indicat e that these challenges are no t insurmountable and that they would prefer to continue working as VTs due to the advantages offered.enTeamsvirtual teamsadvantageschallengessuccess criteriaqualitative studysemi-structured interviewsthematic analysisOPMhigher educationSouth AfricaDissertationUniversity of the Free State