Distributed teams that work toward a common goal, are dispersed among many locations, and communicate
through technology face several challenges. One of the key challenges is the lack of presence
resulting from different work locations and the use of communication technology. As the physical distance
hinders visual awareness of one another, it is difficult to knowwhat the distanced teammembers are
working on and how they are doing (Kraut, Fussell, Brennan, & Siegel, 2002; Cramton, 2001).Moreover,
it may be particularly challenging to perceive presence in terms of daily involvement, engagement, and
the attention of one’s distributed team members, when opportunities for face-to-face communication
are limited (Kiesler & Cummings, 2002).