Prior research on groupware tends to focus on understanding the task processes and how technology can be deployed to facilitate the task completion. However, the socio-emotional processes among Global Virtual Team (GVT) members who use the groupware have not been given due consideration. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework explaining how the various social capital dimensions of social interaction tie, trust, reciprocity, identification and shared language can enhance the

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... onal processes leading to improved GVT performance and satisfaction. The antecedent factors leading to the creation of the social capital are groupware features that facilitate social awareness, social presence, social identity and mutual knowledge. We then make a case for the viability of using Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook as groupware and identify specific Facebook features that fit into our conceptual framework. A methodology is also proposed for future research to validate the conceptual framework.