Growth experience and satisfaction in healthcare project teams: the nonlinearity of autonomy and its interaction with task interdependence

Abstract

ABSTRACT From the learning and development approach of work design, this study examined how individual autonomy influences team members’ positive experiences, such as growth experience and satisfaction, in healthcare project teams in which team members have routine duties. Drawing from an extended model of the autonomy-performance relationship, this study tested the inverted U-shaped effects of individual autonomy on growth experience and team satisfaction, and the moderating role of task interdependence in these effects. Project teams from a non-profit healthcare organisation in the U.S. in which health professionals perform their daily routines along with project responsibilities were invited to participate. The research models were tested using the data from a final sample of 274 team members across 50 project teams. Findings revealed the inverted U-shaped relationships of individual autonomy with growth experience and team satisfaction, which echoes the too-much-of-a-good-thing arguments in management. This study also demonstrated that task interdependence, as a structural mechanism, moderates the above relationships, advancing an understanding of the trade-off relationship between individual autonomy and task interdependence. This study provides theoretical and practical insights for HRD scholars and practitioners into successful project task design for members’ growth experience and satisfaction.