Perceptions and Challenges of Participative Decision-Making in Hybrid Teams

Abstract: This thesis fulfills its aim by creating a theoretical framework in order to identify and analyze the perceived challenges of participative decision-making in hybrid teams, which are two concepts of growing importance. Previous research has neglected the intersection between the two, which is a shortcoming this thesis addresses by considering their challenges in conjunction. To address the purpose, the thesis asks what the perceptions of team members and managers are of how the participative decision-making process varies when members of hybrid teams work in person or virtually, and what the most commonly perceived obstacles are. A literature review first helps to build the preliminary framework, considering the main challenges within each concept and their connections by looking at participative decision-making in the hybrid context. A mixed-methods approach is utilized to test the challenges of the framework with a survey, followed by a focus group to gather a wider set of qualitative data to better understand the challenges. The results show that obstacles to PDM are often perceived to interconnect with those of hybrid teams and vice versa, as well as impact challenges within each concept. Furthermore, working in person or remotely also impacted the perceptions of these challenges, with PDM during remote work typically perceived as more greatly influenced. The significance of this research lies in the creation of a theoretical framework based on the literature review and adapted and validated by empirical data. Future studies can now further test the framework with new methods or in new contexts, as well as apply the challenges of participative decision-making to other relevant concepts.