Learning to fly? First experiences on team learning of Icaros cooperative

Abstract

Icaros is an information technology (IT) cooperative that was originally owned by 11 IT degree programme students of Saimaa University of Applied Sciences. This article describes experiences and challenges of team building of these students who are called ‘teampreneurs’ during their first year as team entrepreneurs. The findings provided here are based on theme-based interviews and direct observations. The team learning experiences gained during their first year were related to lack of risks and challenges in team building. Previous studies related to team development suggest that cooperation and conflict, and also openness and confrontation, are essential elements for team development. Based on the findings, teampreneurs of Icaros were avoiding confrontation and conflict. These facts inhibited their development to a potential team and they were stuck in the pseudo-team stage with several parallel challenges. Later, after four teampreneurs decided to leave the Icaros cooperative, it created a crisis within the team and the Icaros was able to further develop as a team. The results suggest that team building needs lots of time and patience and cannot be hurried. Furthermore, the role of team coach is crucial in supporting the teampreneurs to confront their challenges related to relationships between each other within the team.