Introduction: Advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have transformed how teams collaborate, increasingly combining face-to-face and virtual exchanges. However, prior research has often treated ICTs and face-to-face communication as opposites, overlooking their overlapping and complementary capabilities (Dennis et al., 2008) and the ways team members actively shape media use through their agency. The emerging concept of team communication actions (Perez-Sepulveda et al., 2026) addresses this gap, but its links to teamwork processes and performance remain empirically untested.


Purpose: This study investigates the relationships between team communication actions, teamwork processes, and team performance, considering the moderating role of team tenure.


Method: Data were collected from 517 members in 143 teams across two organisations. We examined the direct effects of eight communication actions on transition, action, and interpersonal processes, as well as their indirect effects on team performance through these processes. Team tenure was included as a moderator.


Results: Team communication actions influenced effectiveness in nuanced ways. Verbal, non-verbal, and refining communications enhanced coordination, trust, and performance, and helped teams manage task conflict constructively to improve outcomes, even if conflict levels did not decrease. Reviewing communications often undermined processes, while graphical communications benefited early-stage teams. Overall, results suggest managers should tailor media use to team maturity and focus on meaning-driven communication to support teamwork and performance.


Conclusions: The study provides the first empirical support for the concept of team communication actions, offering a more nuanced understanding than traditional ICT versus face-to-face comparisons. Results contribute to theory by clarifying how communication behaviours shape teamwork processes and performance, and to practice by informing managers' decisions about communication media use depending on team maturity.