Team Learning Behavior Research Articles

Team Learning in a Multinational Military Staff Exercise

International operations have become one of the main tasks for the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). The SAF and Swedish National Defence College organize annual international staff exercises with the purpose of training officers to carry out effective staff work. This study analyzed a staff exercise using Edmondson’s team learning model in a military setting. The model was developed by including group cohesion. As defensive routines are a threat to team learning behavior, the possible presence of these was examined. The results indicate that team leader coaching is crucial to support all the variables in the model. The added variable of group cohesion contributed with insights on how the commander used task solving to create group cohesion. Some examples of defensive routines were also revealed but there seemed to be challenges in identifying such routines in this type of exercise setting.

Phase-specific relationships between team learning processes and transactive memory development

With this study we seek to contribute to the research on the emergence of transactive memory, that is, the knowledge of “who knows what”, as part of the structural component of transactive memory systems (TMSs). Based on our theoretical model of team learning and transactive memory development, we analyse the relationships among different team learning behaviours and transactive memory during various phases of team development. We use a longitudinal design with three points of measurement at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of a semester, to examine real student project teams over their full life cycle. The results support our presumptions of phase-specific influences of team learning behaviours on transactive memory development. This shows that knowledge-based processes (storage and retrieval) play a more important role during early stages of project-based teamwork, followed by a shift to a higher relevance of communication-based processes (reflection and co-construction) in later stages. Implications for further research and team management phenomena are discussed.

Does team stability mediate the relationship between leadership and team learning? An empirical study among Dutch project teams

An exploratory field study was conducted among 30 project teams in the sectors of building and utilities, engineering and construction, infrastructure, and area decontamination and development in the Netherlands. It examined the influence of leadership on team learning behaviors and included team stability as a potential mediator, all analyzed at the team level using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that both person-oriented and task-oriented leadership behaviors were directly and positively related to team learning. Team stability did not mediate the relationship between leadership and team learning; however, a strong direct relationship between team stability and team learning was found. These findings have implications for interventions by all stakeholders of project teams (i.e., team members, project managers, and supervisors) aimed at increasing team learning. Suggestions are presented for leadership practices that stimulate project team learning behaviors.

Toward Better Understanding of the Learning Goal Orientation–Creativity Relationship: The Role of Positive Psychological Capital

With employee creativity becoming increasingly critical to the competitiveness of today's organisations, there is a need to better understand and refine the role that positive psychological constructs such as learning goal orientation (LGO) and the now recognised psychological capital (PsyCap) may play in influencing creativity. In this study (N= 405 software engineers nested in 56 teams fromChina), we drew from social learning theory and the theory of situational strength to test a cross‐level moderated mediation model and found that the positive relationship betweenLGOandPsyCap was stronger in teams low in learning behavior (i.e. weaker situational strength) and that the indirect effect ofLGOon creativity viaPsyCap was significant when team learning behavior was moderate or low. Thus, our study results indicate that when the team context is less favorable for learning behavior,LGOindividuals can draw from theirPsyCap to generate creativity. The contributions to theory development, directions for future research, and practical implications conclude the article.

Willing to Learn? A Longitudinal Study of Shared Leadership and Team Learning

In this study, we examine how power dynamics influence team learning behavior in self-managing teams over time. Using a longitudinal approach and measures of power based on network methodologies, we collected data from 377 executive MBA students in 79 teams on a start- up simulation project at the beginning, midpoint, and end of their work. We found that power dynamics influenced team learning behavior and the structure by which leadership was shared among members. These relationships were weaker when the power distance was unstable, and when teams were at the temporal midpoint of their work. These findings have implications for how power and learning in teams develop over time and support a socialized power perspective on team learning behaviors.

A Study on the Relationship between Intra-team Conflict and Team Innovative Performance and the Mediating Role of Team Learning Behaviors in R&D Teams

A Study on the Relationship between Intra-team Conflict and Team Innovative Performance and the Mediating Role of Team Learning Behaviors in R&D Teams

Investigating Team Learning in a Military Context

As teams have become fundamental parts of today’s organisations, the need for these teams to function and learn efficiently and effectively is widely emphasised. Also in military contexts team learning is vital. The current article examines team learning behaviour in military teams as it aims to cross-validate a team learning model that was originally developed and tested in an educational context. This team learning model includes several socio-cognitive factors that precede, constitute, and result from team learning behaviour. Findings based on path analyses indicate that psychological safety, social cohesion and group potency are positively related to team learning behaviour in military teams. In addition, team learning behaviour does not only foster the construction of mutually shared cognition and transactive memory systems, but also relates positively to the effectiveness of military teams.

Examining the cross-level relationship between shared leadership and learning in teams: Evidence from China

The current study extends the literature on shared leadership by exploring the questions of whether, how, and when shared leadership makes an impact on team and individual learning behaviors. Specifically, the current research proposed that shared leadership has a positive impact on both team and individual learning and this impact was realized through the mediating role of team psychological safety. Furthermore, the study introduces job variety as a potential moderator in the relationships between shared leadership on team and individual learning behaviors through team psychological safety, such that the indirect effects are more positive when team members perceived high job variety. Using 263 members from 50 teams in China, the hypotheses were largely supported. Theoretical contributions, practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

The Influence of Change-Oriented Leadership and Psychological Safety on Team Learning in Healthcare Teams

Researchers have identified team learning as an important predictor of team performance. In healthcare organizations, it is especially critical for care quality and hospital performance that teams engage in learning behaviors to reduce errors and improve service effectiveness. The main objective of this study is to examine the role of change-oriented leadership in the learning process and outcomes of healthcare teams. The sample comprises a total of 698 healthcare professionals working in 107 teams at different public hospitals throughout Spain. Members of teams were invited to participate voluntarily by completing an anonymous individual questionnaire. The results show a mediating effect of team learning on the relationship between change-oriented leadership and team performance and psychological safety and team performance. Our study contributes to the literature by investigating the role of change-oriented leadership in facilitating team learning behaviors. Moreover, this study advances our understanding of the mediators of the relationship between team leadership and outcomes by testing to assess whether specific change-oriented leader behaviors nurture psychological safety, team learning and, therefore, performance.

Team learning beliefs and behaviours in response teams

PurposeTeams, teamwork and team learning have been the subject of many research studies over the last decades. This article aims at investigating and confirming the Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours (TLB&B) model within a very specific population, i.e. police and firemen teams. Within this context, the paper asks whether the team's beliefs about the interpersonal context and the occurrence of three team learning behaviours (construction, co‐construction and constructive conflict) play a role in building and maintaining mutually shared cognition in a collaborative learning environment leading to a higher effectiveness. Self‐efficacy was added to the original model. Furthermore, the effect of team meeting frequency on the TLB&B model was investigated.Design/methodology/approachAll constructs were measured using the validated Team Learning Beliefs and Behaviours Questionnaire completed with the self‐efficacy scale. Data were collected from 126 teams (nindividuals=769) and analysed using stepwise multi‐level regression analyses and analyses of variance.FindingsThe results show that the examined model generally applies to the data. Furthermore, self‐efficacy was found to be a valuable addition to the model.Originality/valueThis article validates an existing team learning model in a new context, namely that of response teams. Furthermore, it adds self‐efficacy as a predictor for team learning behaviours and team effectiveness. A multilevel‐approach was used as a valuable alternative of aggregating individual perceptions to team constructs.

The temporal priority of team learning behaviors vs. shared mental models in service management teams

This study investigated the temporal priority of shared mental models (SMMs) on team learning behaviors using a longitudinal study design. Twenty-seven field-based teams (173 participants) performing a restaurant management task participated in the study. Panel data on SMMs and learning behaviors were collected in two waves across the 16-week lifespan of the teams. Results from cross-lagged models showed that team learning behaviors had a positive effect on the formation of shared mental models, whereas shared mental models did not predict team learning behaviors. Additionally, SMMs and team learning behavior had a significant positive effect on team performance. The results of the current study contributed to the team literature by showing that team processes (team learning behavior) may impact the development of SMMs, which consequently impacts team performance. The current work also demonstrates that teamwork is essential for success of hospitality organizations and suggests ways to improve team effectiveness. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.

Transformational leadership as a moderator of the relationship between psychological safety and learning behaviour in work teams in Ghana

Orientation: Transformational team leadership is an important variable that influences team members’ perception of the team as psychologically safe enough to engage in learning behaviours.Research purpose: The study was aimed at investigating the relationship between psychological safety and learning behaviour in teams, as well as the moderating role of transformational team leadership in this relationship.Motivation for the study: For a team to be effective, adaptive and innovative and engage in learning behaviours, the transformational team leader must set the right climate in the team, where he or she welcomes the team members’ opinions, questions and feedback at no risk to their image. An understanding of this will be important in team leader selection and training.Research design, approach and method: Using a cross-sectional survey design, 57 work teams comprising 456 respondents in teams of 7–9 members were purposively sampled from five financial institutions in Accra, Ghana. Hierarchical regression and moderation analyses were run on the data at the team level.Main findings: Results indicated a positive relationship between team psychological safety and team learning behaviour, with transformational team leadership moderating this relationship.Practical/managerial implication: Transformational team leadership is important in creating a climate of psychological safety that will enable team members to engage in learning behaviours.Contribution/value-add: The study provided theoretical and empirical evidence that, in organisational contexts, transformational team leadership is an important variable that can facilitate psychological safety and learning behaviour in teams.

Team Training, Team Learning, Leadership and Psychology Safety: A Study of Team Training and Team Learning Behavior during a Swedish Military Staff Exercise

The critical dependence of armed forces on teams carrying out tasks in a continuously changing, uncertain and often dangerous environment, raises questions about how to better understand factors that enable or hamper effective team learning. So far there is no developed field of research into team learning in the Swedish Armed Forces. This is the first of several studies within the Swedish Armed Forces to explore and gain a better understanding of team learning. In this first study of team learning we followed a military staff exercise. The theoretical base in this study is Amy Edmondson’s theoretical model for studying and analyzing team learning. The model consists of context support, team leader coaching, team psychology safety and team learning behavior. The results of this study supports the theoretical model of team learning and describe factors that are important for creating good conditions for team learning behavior.

The mediating role of team learning behavior between team efficacy and team innovative performance in R&D team

The mediating role of team learning behavior between team efficacy and team innovative performance in R&D team

Facilitating team learning through transformational leadership

This article investigates when and how teams engage in team learning behaviours (TLB). More specifically, it looks into how different leadership styles facilitate TLB by influencing the social conditions that proceed them. 498 healthcare workers from 28 nursery teams filled out a questionnaire measuring the concepts leadership style, TLB, social cohesion and team psychological safety. Analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. The results of this cross-sectional study show that transformational leadership predicts TLB better then laissez-faire leadership, because transformational leadership is primarily related to team psychological safety and only secondarily to social cohesion while for laissez-faire leadership it works the other way around. Transformational leadership matters because it facilitates psychological safety in the team.

Team Role Stress

Although role stress literature has almost exclusively focused on individual role incumbents, it is conceivable that shared conditions of ambiguity, conflict, and quantitative or qualitative overload may give rise to a collective experience of role stress in teams. Testing a multilevel mediation model among 38 Dutch project teams ( N = 283), we studied the interplay among individual and team role stress, team learning behaviors, and individual and team performance. Team role stress was discerned as a separate construct next to individual role stress. Team quantitative role overload, in particular, impeded team and individual performance by inhibiting team learning behaviors and, indirectly, also hindered individual performance by increasing individual quantitative overload.

Key role of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in advancing the degree of team learning

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is the main concern of the managers who are expanding their business at global level. It provides new avenues for the promotion of team learning in the organization. The significance of SHRM in advancement of team learning behaviour is still to be emphasized by scholars and academicians. Less emphasis is laid on the analysis of key role of SHRM in advancing degree of team learning in the globalized business world. The main purpose of this article is to explore literary facts pertaining to this key area. On the basis of review of literature on SHRM, its importance for nurturing the team learning behaviour among the diverse workforce of global business organizations to develop learning organizations and sustaining emotionally intelligent knowledge workers is presented and analyzed. Key words: Strategic human resource management (SHRM), cultural differences, team learning, team effectiveness, learning organization, knowledge workers, emotional intelligence.

Team Learning and Reflexivity in Technology-Mediated Collaboration

This study examines technological, educational/learning, and social affordances associated with the facilitation of team learning during technology-mediated collaborative problem solving. An empirical interpretive research approach using direct observation is used to interpret, evaluate and rate observable manifested behaviors and qualitative content (i.e., discussions) associated with team learning and team reflexivity. The theory of affordances and social impact theory are integrated to develop a conceptual model that asserts that collaboration mode (collocated vs. non-collocated and videoconferencing supported) will dictate the quality of information exchange, progressive elaboration of ideas, and the social processes that influence team learning. Team learning is then suggested to give rise to task and social reflexivity behaviors aimed at monitoring and evaluating acquired understanding, adaptation of task strategy, and maintenance of quality intra-team interactions. Results showed that collocated teams did engage in better quality team learning behaviors. Further, persistent reflection on task progress and solution accuracy yielded better team productivity while maintenance of a mutual supportive and positive climate yielded higher perceived quality interpersonal interactions. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

"웹기반 PBL환경에서 공유지식 형성에 영향을 미치는 팀 학습활동 특성 규명"

본 연구는 웹기반 PBL에서 관찰되는 공유지식 형성의 과정을 팀 학습활동을 기반으로 분석하고, 더 나아가 학습과정에서 형성된 팀 공유지식구조(유사성, 정확성)와의 관련성을 규명하여 성공적인 웹기반 협력학습의 설계와 운영을 위한 초석 마련을 목적으로 하였다. 이를 위해 서울 소재 A대학의 사이버 강의를 수강한 79명을 대상으로 6주간 웹기반 PBL을 시행하고, 수행수준 별로 4개 팀을 선정하여 사례연구를 진행하였으며, 학습과정에서 발생한 동시, 비동시 상호작용 메시지를 포함한 다양한 학습활동 자료를 수집하여 팀 학습활동의 특성을 분석하였다. 자료 분석은 첫째, 근거이론(grounded theory)을 적용, 지식공유 과정에서 관찰된 학습활동 요소를 분석하였으며, 둘째, 수행수준이 다른 4개 팀을 대상으로 연구과정에서 개발된 공유지식형성활동 분석틀에 기초하여 팀 학습활동의 양적, 질적 차이를 분석하였다. 셋째, 팀 학습활동의 특징과 공유지식 형성과의 관련성을 확인하기 위하여 Pathfinder 네트워크 분석 프로그램을 활용하여 공유지식구조의 유사성과 정확성을 비교 분석하였다. 연구결과, 팀 수행수준에 따라 팀 학습활동의 패턴과 메시지의 양적, 질적 측면에서는 유의한 차이가 있는 것으로 확인되었으며, 팀 학습활동의 특성은 공유지식 구조의 유사성과 정확성에 영향을 미치는 것으로 분석되었다. 본 연구는 이같은 연구결과를 바탕으로 웹기반 협력학습에서 학습수행과 공유지식형성의 촉진하는 학습 환경설계와 학습운영 전략개발을 위한 제언을 제공하고 있다.

Team Learning and Its Impact on Marketing Team Performance: An Empirical Study

The paper explains the effects of internal and external team learning behaviors on the performance of marketing teams. The survey was conducted in the context of a multinational Pharmaceutical Corporation marketing its products in Turkey. Data were collected from members of marketing team which included medical sales representatives, specialized medical sales representatives and districts heads of marketing. The results indicate that both the internal team learning and the external team learning behaviors play significant roles in ensuring the success of marketing teams in continuously identifying, anticipating and satisfying the customer requirements profitably through an efficient deployment of the marketing teams’ resources.