An Analysis of the Impact of Team Composition and Psychosocial Factors on Engineering Team Effectiveness

Abstract

There is limited research on the mix of team composition and psychosocial factors influencing engineering team effectiveness. This study explored how team composition (gender, age, race, experience, educational diversity, and team size) and psychosocial factors (cognition and group climate) influence the effectiveness of engineering teams. A survey on the performance of engineering teams was carried out to elicit the relevant data from Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies and oil refineries in the United States. The results from a multiple linear regression analysis of the data indicate that gender composition, age, experience, and the group climate’s Engaged variable positively impacted team effectiveness. On the other hand, the team size and the group climate’s Avoiding and Conflict variables had a negative impact. The engineering team’s racial composition, educational diversity, and cognition did not have a significant impact on team effectiveness. The insight from the study opens new vistas for how engineering managers can improve the effectiveness of their teams. Managers could modulate the team composition variables at the point of recruitment into the team for maximum effectiveness, while also ensuring the work atmosphere is devoid of negative tendencies like tension and anger. The findings of the study form a foundation for further research on engineering team effectiveness.