Team Member Interpersonal Emotion Regulation, Team Motivation, and Innovation

Abstract

According to teamwork theories, team members’ use of interpersonal emotion regulation, namely, behaviors that initiate, maintain, or change emotions in others, should influence team effectiveness. Drawing on this proposal, we hypothesize that the effects of team member interpersonal emotion regulation (TIER) on team performance occur through its effects on team motivation. Based on a sample of 392 cross-functional teams (N = 2071), our findings show a positive indirect effect of affect-improving TIER on team innovation through team approach motivation, and a negative indirect effect of affect- worsening TIER on team innovation through team avoidance motivation. These findings expand our understanding of interpersonal emotion regulation in teams by showing the processes through which team member interpersonal emotion regulation can facilitate or inhibit team effectiveness.