Virtual teams enable knowledge workers from around the globe to participate in a variety of projects through computer-mediated interactions. Given that many of these virtual teams, including those involved in open source software development and other systems development, may not have preassigned leaders, it is important to understand the factors that explain why an individual may be considered a leader by team members in other locations. Specifically, the factors information systems development (ISD) ability, contribution, knowledge transfer, and team cohesion are hypothesized to influence remote leader emergence in distributed ISD teams. The proposed model is tested in a study using ISD teams composed of student members from both the US and Scandinavia. ISD ability, contribution, and knowledge transfer in cohesive teams were found to be significant predictors of remote leadership emergence. The study also suggests that US and Scandinavian members do not use the same criteria for identifying remote team members as leaders and offers a theoretical explanation of the results.

Knowledge transfer among geographically separated members is recognized as a critical ingredient for collaborative accomplishment of work in virtual teams. However, due to the "localness" of knowledge, such transfer of knowledge is believed to be inherently problematic; thus, it is important to develop a solid understanding of the factors that enable knowledge transfer in such contexts. Drawing on existing literature on knowledge management and virtual teamwork, we identify four Cs (communication, capability, credibility, and culture) associated with individuals who transfer significant amounts of knowledge to remote members. Next, we test the four Cs in the context of US-Norwegian virtual teams engaged in systems development. The volume of communication, the credibility of the communicator, and the nature of cultural values held (i.e., collectivism) by the communicator were found to significantly predict the extent of knowledge transferred; although, contrary to expectations, capability was not found to have a significant influence. A number of implications for virtual team participants and professional communicators are articulated. Avenues for future research are also suggested.