Instead, our minds tend to perceive objects as elements of more complex systems. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests that we do not simply focus on every small component. Our findings have important implications for scholars, managers, systems designers, and members of virtual teams, teleworkers, and other geographically dispersed contexts. Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. We show how people can form strong bonds despite being separated by large distances and continue to shift the emphasis from information systems as “pipes” or channels to information systems as vehicles for conveying shared meaning and symbolic value. Using qualitative data (2,289 comments from 1,188 respondents coded into 9 themes), we explore the symbolic meaning of perceived proximity. We also find that people’s perceptions of proximity mediate the effects of communication and identification on relationship quality. Dot pattern perception is one of the basic components in visual perception research (Kubovy, 1994 Kubovy et al., 1998). Our results show that perceived proximity (i.e., a cognitive and affective sense of relational closeness) and not physical proximity (i.e., geographic closeness measured in miles or kilometers) affects relationship quality in an international survey of more than 600 people and 1,300 dyadic work relationships.
Then, we compare how perceived proximity and objective distance relate to relationship quality for collocated and geographically dispersed work colleagues. Building on previous theoretical work, we create and validate measures of perceived proximity. Using a mixed-methods approach, we develop the concept of perceived proximity, which is created through communication, shared identity, and the symbolic aspects thereof.
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