Global virtual teams in education: Do peer assessments motivate student effort?

Abstract During the last decade, global virtual teams have become increasingly common in academic and work settings. Considering the recent global pandemic, now they seem to be more the rule than an exception. Drawing on expectancy theory and using a latent growth model approach, this paper investigates the relationship between peer assessments and student individual effort to complete a given task. The analysis of these two variables as parallel processes indicates that the more abrupt the decrease in peer assessments, the steeper the positive rate of change in effort in the context of global virtual teams. This longitudinal study suggests that peer assessments are a useful and effective means to boost global virtual team members’ individual effort. The paper concludes with implications and recommendations for researchers, managers and educators who use global virtual teams in education and practice.