Professionalism-its effect on interpersonal relationships in high-tech global virtual teams

Drawing on accounts presented-and the metaphors incorporated therein-in interviews with 129 workers, this study considers the effect of professionalism on relationships between Indian and Israeli global team members working in the high-tech industry. This study shows how the discourse of professionalism (together with additional, professionally oriented organizational mechanisms), as manifested in high-tech organizations, dictates not only employee-organization relations but also relationships between peers working in global virtual teams (GVTs). The study further illuminates how this particular construction of professionalism can engender a paradox in interpersonal relationships for professionals working in GVTs; and its subtle negative impact, from an ethical perspective, on interpersonal relationships between them. It also shows, however, that perceptions of friendship do emerge despite these limiting conditions.