Rhyme and Reason: Emotional Capability and the Performance of Knowledge-Intensive Work Groups

Organizations greatly depend on the performance of small, autonomous, knowledge-intensive work groups. These groups can be perceived as bundles of knowledge-based resources that reside in the groups' individual members. In addition to developing individual skills and know-how, performance of knowledge-intensive work groups depends on the successful integration of diverse individual skills. In particular, the integration of highly specialized individual knowledge can occur only when groups foster an atmosphere that encourages cooperation and divergent thinking. In this article, we develop a general model on the role of emotions in knowledge-intensive work groups by integrating literatures in the areas of psychology, organizational behavior, organization theory, and strategic management. Intense social interactions within knowledge-intensive work groups, and the turbulence that characterize their environments, generate many events that elicit emotions among group members. Moreover, through social interaction, emotions transmit from member to member. Consequently, it is critical that knowledge-intensive work groups develop emotional capability, or the ability to recognize and regulate emotions of group members.