Shared mental models and task decomposition

Abstract

PurposeThe research on shared mental models (SMMs) focuses on the importance of all team members holding similar mental models to realize team performance. However, for a perceived decomposable task, it is not required for all team members to have similar mental models to achieve team performance. Moreover, unnecessary overlapping mental models among team members may engender information overloading, translating into suboptimal team performance. Absent from the current literature is an understanding of the factors that determine the minimal overlapping mental models required across specific members for team performance. The purpose of this study is to yield an understanding of these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis study highlights that the requirement to hold similar mental models across specific team members depends on the task decomposition mechanisms used: task complexity and decomposability, subtask assigned and layer, task modularity, workflow interdependence type and tool attributes.FindingsUnlike much prior research which measured the relationship between SMMs and team performance at the team level, our conceptualization suggests that the measurement of SMMs and team performance needs to be conducted across a team and subsets of the team or individuals depending on task complexity and decomposability. This current research offers an important viewpoint regarding when team members need to hold similar mental models to realize task performance.Originality/valueBy suggesting new insights into when mental models should be similar across specific team members, this research also provides understanding of why some empirical SMMs studies do not yield positive relationships between similar SMMs and team effectiveness while others do.