External Activities and Team Effectiveness

Abstract

With the emergence of new organizational forms such as team-based organizations, external activities have become a critical function for organizational teams. This article offers a theoretical framework that indicates when external activities enhance team effectiveness and explains how team-design features influence external activities. Drawing on structural contingency theory, this article proposes that the relationship between external activities and team effectiveness is moderated by a set of structural contingency factors, including environmental characteristics, external interdependence, temporal fluctuations in external demands, and task complexity. The framework also identifies a set of team characteristics, including team composition, group development, and leadership, that influences the level of external activities. The present model contributes to the group literature by identifying moderators and antecedents of external activities with respect to their effects on team effectiveness. It also suggests further issues and challenges that should guide future studies of external activities of organizational teams.