This study examines group dynamics in a virtual decision-making context through the lens of role theory and speech act theory, furthering previous research on the roles that emerge in such settings. Specifically, this research uses communication transcripts and text analysis to complete two main research objectives. First, we extend prior research by exploring how individual traits of group members (specifically, personality, cognitive ability, and social sensitivity) are related to emerging roles in computer-mediated communication. Personal characteristics such as agreeableness, social sensitivity, and motivation were significant predictors of role emergence in online decision-making groups. Agreeableness predicted the emergence of the listener role, social sensitivity predicted the emergence of the manager role, and motivation predicted the emergence of the sharer role. Second, we answer the call for more replication research and further validate the results from previous research by measuring roles assumed by individuals working synchronously online; we highlight the findings that are confirmed across previous research and our current study.

Individuals assume roles in all aspects of life, including in computer-supported collaborative settings. The concept of roles is particularly interesting in settings where no formal roles are defined, as in self-managing virtual teams. In these settings, roles often emerge not only as a result of individual characteristics, but also as participants interact with each other and develop norms of behavior. Using role theory and speech act theory, this study explores the emergence of roles in computer-mediated decision-making groups, using chat transcripts from a lab experiment. Results indicate that four distinct roles emerge as individuals come together in decision-making groups using synchronous computer-mediated communication. These emerging roles have implications for virtual teams in research and practice.