Constituting relationships in communication: An interdisciplinary approach to understanding peer relationships in geographically dispersed teams

This chapter advances a newly emerging theoretical perspective which views personal relationships as comprised of the small, everyday acts of interaction (Duck, 1998). Not only is this perspective generated in the communications discipline appropriate for examining how relationships are understood in all types of teams, it is particularly suited for understanding close working and personal relationships which occur among peers in geographically dispersed teams. Perspectives on relationships from the disciplines of interpersonal communication and relationships, information systems, and organizational behavior are reviewed and integrated to propose a framework for examining peer relationships in geographically dispersed teams.