Team Knowledge Measurement and Representation in Large Collectives

Abstract

What is the shared mental model or the transactive memory of a team? While extant methods to measure and represent team knowledge have been quite effective for small teams where knowledge is evenly shared, they are less useful as the team size increases, and as the tasks become more asynchronous and of longer duration. What methods are best to use when team knowledge is shared unevenly? Or when there are centrally knowledgeable members, knowledge isolates or knowledge clusters/cliques? What if the task knowledge needed draws from multiple knowledge domains? What if the team knowledge configuration changes over time? In these cases, measuring and representing team knowledge is more complex and simple averages provide an incomplete picture. Current team knowledge conceptualizations that are primarily based on aggregate constructs such as group means or simple distribution, do not provide nuanced insights into how team knowledge configurations affect outcomes. For example, centrally knowledgeable members are hubs for knowledge exchange and information coordination within the team. Similarly, the presence of knowledge isolates or knowledge cliques may be dysfunctional. In this presenter symposium, leading scholars in the team cognition field will present their concepts, constructs and empirical findings associated with the measurement and (visual, quantitative and/or qualitative representation of team knowledge in large collectives, whch can help predict team processes and outcomes more effectively. Managing Multiple Embeddedness and the Development of Shared Cognition in Multiteam Systems Presenter: Toshio Murase; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Raquel Asencio; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Leslie A. DeChurch; Georgia Institute of Technology Presenter: Barthelemy Chollet; Grenoble Ecole de Management Presenter: Stephen J. Zaccaro; George Mason U.