The COVID-19 global pandemic propelled organizations to transition from co-located teaming environments to virtual teaming environments faster than projected. This new virtual organizational design is comprised of members from different cultures (culturally heterogeneous) as opposed to members from the same culture (culturally homogeneous). Such a shift forced many organizations, leaders, and followers into unknown situations for which they were unprepared. While much about leadership in culturally heterogeneous virtual teams is known, the problem is, there is a lack of understanding regarding followership in the same environment. Two theories guided this study, followership theory and implicit followership theory. This study answered the question: What are follower characteristics within culturally heterogeneous virtual teams as derived from the lived experiences of followers? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants who held non-leadership roles and represented two genders, five-countries, two geographical regions, and four service industry sectors. Transcribed data were manually coded using the ATLAS.ti 9 qualitative analysis software, and a modified Van Kaam analysis method was employed. A total of three prototypical themes were identified with 46-distinct follower characteristics distributed across two sub-themes (desired and undesired). Results revealed that follower characteristics in culturally heterogeneous virtual teams differ from follower characteristics in culturally homogeneous co-located teams. Practical implications for both leaders and followers were discussed, and recommendations for further research were put forth
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest, 2021
