Abstract
In this study, we investigated both the role of task context (i.e., task type and task sequence) in influencing the strength of specialization and coordination in teams, and how it impacts the relative value of specialization and coordination for team outcomes (i.e., team creative performance). In an experimental setting, we predicted and found that working on an initial creative task facilitated the emergence of specialization and coordination in the team, as compared to working on an initial analytic task. Furthermore, the sequence in which the different task types were presented influenced subsequent coordination levels. Additionally, specialization and coordination had an interactive effect on team creative performance. We found that specialization was most beneficial for team creative performance when coordination was low rather than high, and that coordination was most beneficial for team creative performance when specialization was low rather than high, hence they play a compensatory role in influencing team creativity. Overall, this advances our existing understanding of team creativity by studying the influence of an important but understudied factor (i.e., the task context) and associated team cognitive states. The implications of our results for theory and practice are discussed.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.