Abstract
This study investigates the impact of leadership structure (formal, informal, and no leader) on team processes (motivation and identification) and outcomes (satisfaction and performance) in global virtual teams (GVTs). Drawing on adaptive structuration theory, we propose that leadership structure influences team outcomes both directly and indirectly through motivation and identification. Using multi-source data from 3,132 international students in 635 GVTs, we found that informal leader and no leader structures were positively related to motivation, identification, and satisfaction, while formal leader was positively related to motivation and satisfaction. Motivation mediated the relationship between informal leader, no leader and both satisfaction and performance. Team identification mediated the relationship between no leader and satisfaction, but not between formal leadership and satisfaction. These findings highlight the importance of clear leadership roles and the need for organizations to consider the choice of leadership structure when forming GVTs.