Trust within teams: The relation with performance effectiveness

The acknowledgement that trust is important for the functioning of organizations has increased the demand for research showing how this importance is reflected on the behaviour of its members. In this article we focus on trust within teams and explore the relation with performance effectiveness. A model was tested relating trust with perceived task performance, team satisfaction, relationship commitment, and stress. In this model trust is presented as a multi-component variable with distinct but related dimensions. These include propensity to trust, perceived trustworthiness, cooperative and monitoring behaviours. Data from 112 teams collected in three social care institutions in The Netherlands were analysed with structural equation modelling to test the model. The results are supportive of the multi-component structure of trust and confirmed the importance of trust for the functioning of teams in organizations. The results suggest that trust is positively related with perceived task performance, team satisfaction, and relationship commitment, and negatively related with stress. In addition, perceived task performance was positively related with team satisfaction.     

Confidence at the group level of analysis: A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between potency and team effectiveness

Our longitudinal field study investigated the relationship between team potency and team effectiveness. The sample for this study was drawn from 71 change management teams from an automotive firm in the USA. Team potency ratings were obtained from team members. Team effectiveness ratings were obtained from team members, team leaders and external raters. Results indicated that team effectiveness and team potency are reciprocally and longitudinally related (p< .01).     

The role of decision influence and team performance in member self-efficacy, withdrawal, satisfaction with the leader, and willingness to return

This study examines team performance as a moderator of the relationship between decision influence and outcomes relevant to team effectiveness in hierarchical teams with distributed ex pertise. In this type of team staff members have unique roles and make recommendations to the team leader, who ultimately makes the team's final decisions. It is suggested that the positive rela tionship between decision influence and favorable outcomes (e.g., satisfaction) consistently described in the literature is dependent on team performance in this type of team. Specifically, team effec tiveness outcomes are proposed to be consistently more favorable in higher performing than in lower performing teams. Decision influence is proposed to relate positively to member satisfaction with the leader, willingness to return, and self-efficacy and to relate negatively to withdrawal in higher performing teams. The opposite pattern of relationships is expected in lower performing teams. A laboratory study was conducted with 228 undergradu ates performing a computer task as subordinates in 76 four-person teams with a confederate leader. The results generally support the hypotheses and illustrate a dilemma for leaders attempting to manage team effectiveness.     

Individual autonomy in work teams: The role of team autonomy,self-efficacy,and social support

Task autonomy is long recognized as a means to improve functioning of individuals and teams. Taking a multilevel approach, we unravelled the constructs of team and individual autonomy and studied the interplay between team autonomy, self-efficacy, and social support in determining individual autonomy of team members. Hierarchical regression results of a survey among 733 members of 76 health care teams showed that individual autonomy was related not only to the level of team autonomy, but also to self-efficacy and social support. Moreover, results suggested that social support moderates the extent to which team autonomy is incorporated into the individual tasks of team members. In highly autonomous teams, individuals experiencing moderate support from co-workers and supervisors reported higher individual autonomy than members experiencing either low or very high support.     

Beyond the Big Five: Leader Goal Orientation as a Predictor of Leadership Effectiveness

This study examined proximal traits as mediators of the relationships between distal traits and leadership effectiveness. Specifically, we examined goal orientation, leadership self-efficacy, and motivation to lead (MTL) as antecedents of leadership effectiveness, after controlling for the Big Five personality traits. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 100 leaders of four-person teams performing a manufacturing task in a laboratory setting. Consistent with expectation, leadership self-efficacy partially mediated the relationships between learning goal orientation and Affective-Identity MTL as well as Social-Normative MTL, after controlling for the Big Five. Noncalculative MTL related significantly to averaged team member ratings of leadership effectiveness, after controlling for both the leader's and the team member's personality. These results help aid in our understanding of why leader traits relate to leadership effectiveness.     

SELECTING INDIVIDUALS IN TEAM SETTINGS: THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SKILLS, PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS, AND TEAMWORK KNOWLEDGE

Although work is commonly organized around teams, there is relatively little empirical research on how to select individuals in team-based settings. The goal of this investigation was to examine whether 3 of the most commonly used selection techniques for hiring into traditional settings (a structured interview, a personality test, and a situational judgment test) would be effective for hiring into team settings. In a manufacturing organization with highly interdependent teams, we examined the relationships between social skills, several personality characteristics (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability), teamwork knowledge, and contextual performance. Results indicate that each of these constructs is bivariately related to contextual performance in a team setting, with social skills, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and teamwork knowledge incrementally predicting contextual performance (with a multiple correlation of .48). Implications of these results for selection in team and traditional settings are discussed.     

Collective efficacy beliefs in student work teams: Relation to self-efficacy, cohesion, and performance

A measure of collective efficacy was developed and administered to undergraduates working in project teams in engineering courses. Findings in each of two samples revealed that the measure contained a single factor and was related to ratings of team cohesion and personal efficacy. Collective efficacy was also found to relate to indicators of team performance at both individual and group levels of analysis. Consistent with social cognitive theory, collective efficacy was a stronger predictor of team performance than team members’ perceptions of their self-efficacy. We consider the implications of these findings for further research, theory, and practice on team functioning within occupational and educational settings.     

KNOWLEDGE WORKER TEAM EFFECTIVENESS: THE ROLE OF AUTONOMY, INTERDEPENDENCE, TEAM DEVELOPMENT, AND CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT VARIABLES

This study investigated how autonomy, interdependence, and team development, along with process and contextual support variables, were related to the effectiveness of teams of "knowledge workers." The sample included 231 knowledge workers from 27 work teams. Team members completed surveys measuring the design, process, and contextual factors. Effectiveness measures included multiple key stakeholder evaluations of team performance and self-report measures of attitudinal outcomes. The results suggest that interactions among design, process, and contextual support factors have important implications for team effectiveness. In particular, the positive relationship between team autonomy and team job motivation was reduced as teams worked under more interdependent conditions. This interaction effect also varied across the types of autonomy (e.g., planning-related, product-related, and people-related) the team was given. Results also demonstrated that the relationship between job motivation and team process behaviors (helping, sharing, and innovating) was more positive in teams who were developmental mature. Process behaviors were positively related to effectiveness, but those relationships became more positive in the presence of certain contextual factors (high-quality goals and efficient information transmission), and less positive in the presence of others (feedback and time pressure). Future research needs and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Interactive Effects of Team and Task Shared Mental Models as Related to Air Traffic Controllers' Collective Efficacy and Effectiveness

We assessed the influence of task and team shared mental models (SMMs) on team effectiveness, as mediated by collective efficacy. Using a sample of 422 air traffic controllers representing 43 Navy teams from land-based towers, task SMMs exhibited a significant linear relationship with team effectiveness, whereas team SMMs did not. Moreover, the interaction of team and task SMMs was positively related to team effectiveness. Collective efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between task SMMs (but not team SMMs or their interaction) and team effectiveness. Results are discussed in terms of the complex nature of SMMs and team outcomes.     

团队共享心智模型的影响因素与效果

采用两种测量方法对团队共享心智模型的影响因素与影响效果进行探讨。多元回归和层次回归分析的结果表明,团队成员沟通得越好,就越有利于形成共享心智模型;如果团队中存在搭便车的行为越严重,就越不利于形成共享心智模型;共享心智模型有利于团队有效运作,取得好的绩效;有共享心智模型的团队,成员的满意度比较高,群体效能感较高,并且团队成员之间的密切关系会延续到工作之外;共享心智模型在团队运行过程变量和团队有效性之间起到中介作用。     

Klaus B: The success story of an entrepreneur - a case study

Interorganizational teams are rapidly becoming more prevalent as a means to improve organizations' responsiveness. To achieve their objective, interorganizational teams must engage in extensive amounts of boundary spanning activity. This study juxtaposed three structural variables, namely team informational diversity, team boundedness, and extrateam links, in an integrated model aimed at promoting our understanding of how to increase interorganizational team boundary spanning activity and its effectiveness. The model was tested with 49 health promotion teams. Our findings indicated that three types of boundary spanning—scouting, ambassadorial, and coordinating—were positively associated with interorganizational team effectiveness. In addition, for team informational diversity, team boundedness, and extrateam links, scouting and ambassadorial activities fully mediated their relationships with team effectiveness; for team boundedness, coordinating activity also fully mediated its relationship with team effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating structural considerations into the management of interorganizational teams.     

虚拟团队共享心理模型与团队效能的关系

通过对62个虚拟团队的调研,检验了虚拟团队认同式共享心理模型与分布式共享心理模型构思,并运用多层线性建模技术,对团队特征变量、共享心理模型与虚拟团队效能间的关系进行了分析。结果表明：两类共享心理模型与团队效能间存在显著正相关;团队时间会影响共享心理模型与虚拟团队任务效能间的关系,团队时间会削弱认同式共享心理模型对任务效能间的正向关系,但能加强分布式共享心理模型对任务效能的正面影响;团队规模则主要影响共享心理模型对合作效能的效应,团队规模增加会加强认同式共享心理模型与合作效能间的相关,却会削弱分布式共享心理模型与合作效能间的关系     

Effects of trusting and being trusted on team citizenship behaviours in chain stores

Previous studies showed a robust and positive relationship between subordinates' trust for leaders and their individual organizational citizenship behaviours. Building on this foundation, we examined two extensions. First, based on the team citizenship behaviours approach, we studied whether the same relationship held at the group level. Second, drawing from literature on leadership and self-efficacy, we studied whether leaders' perceptions of being trusted by their subordinates mattered in this trust relationship; we also examined how this perception affected team citizenship behaviours. Results showed that subordinates' trust for leaders and team citizenship behaviours were positively related at the team level. When leaders felt more trusted, teams showed more citizenship behaviours. Beyond these main effects, leaders' felt trust was found to negatively moderate the relationship between staff trust for leaders and team citizenship behaviours. Theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed.     

团队人格组成、团队过程对团队有效性的作用

由于团队对组织的重要性,团队有效性的研究倍受关注。通过对342个大学生短期团队完成决策任务的研究,旨在探讨团队人格组成与团队中间过程对团队有效性的作用机制。研究以自陈式问卷调查收集数据,采用层次回归与结构方程模型进行统计分析。研究结果表明：团队过程变量（协作、信念、凝聚力）在团队人格组成（外向性、宜人性、神经质）与团队有效性之间起中介作用,横断研究的I-P-O整体模型得到验证     

Selection in Teams: An Exploration of the Teamwork Knowledge,Skills, and Ability Test

In 1994, Stevens and Campion introduced the Teamwork Knowledge, Skills, and Ability test (teamwork KSA test) for selecting employees for team–based organizations. Using experimental data from 57 ad hoc student teams (N = 227), we examined this test's relationship with both the behavior of the assigned leader in a team and the behavior of the other team members, respectively. We found that the teamwork KSA test successfully predicted individual team member behavior as indexed by external raters (r= .31) and peers (r= .34) such that higher scores on the teamwork KSA test related to greater individual effectiveness within the team. The teamwork KSA test was unrelated to the behavior of the assigned leader in the teams studied. Self–efficacy for teamwork was not related to individual behavior in teams, nor did it moderate the relationship between the teamwork KSA test and individual performance in teams. Limitations as well as directions for future research in team selection are discussed.     

绿色变革型领导对团队绿色行为的影响： 基于社会认知视角的本土探索

随着环境问题日益严峻,如何鼓励和引导组织中的绿色行为已逐渐成为领导者的使命。本研究检验了绿色变革型领导对团队绿色行为的影响,并从社会认知的视角探索团队绿色自我效能的中介作用和集体主义气氛的调节作用。对104份团队数据进行回归分析,结果发现：绿色变革型领导与团队绿色行为呈正相关,团队绿色自我效能在上述过程中起着部分中介作用;集体主义气氛正向调节了团队绿色自我效能与团队绿色行为的直接关系,以及绿色变革型领导与团队绿色行为之间经由团队绿色自我效能的间接效应。本研究的结果能为如何管理团队绿色行为提供启发。     

Innovation in multidisciplinary teams: The moderating role of transformational leadership in the relationship between professional heterogeneity and shared mental models

Research on the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teams has been equivocal. In an attempt to understand when a team’s professional heterogeneity (PH) is positively related to innovation (INN), we proposed an integrative model in which shared mental models (SMMs) are theorized as a mechanism to leverage INN in highly multidisciplinary teams. In addition, we claim that transformational leadership (TL), which is usually regarded as a factor contributing to team effectiveness, will attenuate the effect of teams’ PH on team SMM. In a field study of 55 R&D teams in Israel, we found that SMMs mediated the relationship between PH and INN, and that TL moderated the relationship between PH and Team SMM. We discuss the theoretical and practical implication of these findings.     

Reflexivity in Teams: A Review and New Perspectives

Team reflexivity posits that the extent to which teams reflect upon and adapt their functioning is positively related to team performance. While remarkable progress has been made to provide evidence of this relationship, the underlying framework is missing elements of current theoretical streams for analyzing and describing teamwork, leaving the diversity of effects of team reflexivity often untouched. In this article, we present an update for this framework, by reviewing previous research on reflexivity, addressing gaps in the literature, and revising the original model by integrating feedback and dynamic team effectiveness frameworks for describing temporal developments of reflexivity. We furthermore propose a new dimensional structure for reflexivity, relying on prior work conceptualizing teams as information-processing systems that learn and advance through social-cognitive elements. Our model is therefore not only suitable for explaining the diverse set of relationships between team reflexivity on outcomes, but also provides valuable directions for viewing reflexivity as process that takes place during both transition and action phases of teamwork. We conclude with implications for managers, identify limitations, and propose an agenda for further research into this area. This article contributes an extended perspective relevant for further theory development and for effectively managing reflexivity in teams.     

Leader Network Centrality and Team Performance: Team Size as Moderator and Collaboration as Mediator

The social network perspective provides a valuable lens to understand the effectiveness of team leaders. In understanding leadership impact in team networks, an important question concerns the structural influence of leader centrality in advice-giving networks on team performance. Taking the inconsistent evidence for the positive relationship of network centrality and leadership effectiveness as a starting point, we suggest that the positive impact of leader centrality in advice-giving networks is contingent on team needs for leadership to meet communication and coordination challenges, which we argue are larger in larger teams. Developing our analysis, we examine the mediating role of member collaboration in the relationship of leader network centrality and team performance as moderated by team size. Based on a multi-source dataset of 542 employees and 71 team leaders, we found that leader centrality in advice-giving networks related positively to team performance in larger teams but negatively in smaller teams. Results supported the mediated moderation model via member collaboration in smaller teams, but not in larger teams.

     

Flow experience and team performance: The role of team goal commitment and information exchange

While a number of studies show that the flow experience is related to different outcomes at the individual level, the role of flow in work teams remains unclear. This study contributes to the advancement of knowledge on flow by testing the relationships between this psychological state, team goal commitment and team performance. Data were gathered from 85 teams comprised of graduate and undergraduate students who participated in a project management simulation. The results show that the flow experience is positively related to team performance. This relationship is mediated by team goal commitment and moderated by the level of information exchange between team members. In practical terms, the results of this study show that managers should implement interventions fostering the flow experience in their teams, while at the same time encouraging information exchange between members.