Managing Performance in Virtual Teams : A Multiple Case Study of Esport Organizations

Abstract: Abstract Background The growing phenomenon of esports during the last decade have sparked the rise of a billion dollar industry. Professional esport teams are now competing in arenas with an audience of millions watching at home. Virtual teams have been used actively since the 1990’s and are now the standard structure in esport organizations. Problem Most of the organizations in esports are based virtually which means that the team members act and communicate in a virtual environment. The explosive growth of esports have resulted in an industry with limited managerial experience. This have resulted in increasing difficulties managing and maintaining teams in esports organizations. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how an esport organization can manage processes to achieve effective performance. This study is conducted to expand the knowledge on the role of a manager in esports organizations. Method The empirical data in this study was gathered using a qualitative approach. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with a managers and two players in two different esport organizations. The empirical data was complimented and compared with previous literature on virtual team performance. Results The empirical findings together with previous academic literature was analyzed to form several processes and implications that ultimately can lead an esport organization to better performance. The academic literature on virtual teams mostly match the empirical findings with a few important differences. The results offered an insight into the processes that an organization can utilize to achieve better performing teams.