Professional Commitment and Team Effectiveness: A Moderated Mediation Investigation of Cognitive Diversity and Task Conflict

Abstract

This study investigates a moderated mediation model of professional commitment and team effectiveness through cognitive diversity moderated by task conflict. Data were collected from 70 UK healthcare teams and their leaders using two questionnaires. We find that teams comprised of members who have, on average, high professional commitment are more effective than teams of members who are less committed and that this path is mediated by cognitive diversity and contingent on task conflict. Team composed of members who are strongly committed to their profession may be more effective consequent to their advocacy of different perspectives and expertise, reflecting cognitive diversity. However, this positive effect of professional commitment is not universal but contingent on the level of disagreement between members on task-related issues. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate that professional commitment can increase team effectiveness and does so through a complex contingent path. While few studies have investigated professional commitment, our results suggest that such commitment can be of great value to multidisciplinary teams.