Team Setting Research Articles

Does pulling together lead to falling apart? The self-regulatory consequences of cooperative orientations for the self-reliant

Much evidence exists to support the hypothesis that cooperation improves performance outcomes for both organizations and individuals. In spite of this, relatively little attention has been paid to the potential downstream consequences of asking self-reliant individuals to work and pursue goals in a team setting, where their success depends heavily on cooperation and the performance of others. This paper explores these downstream consequences. Across three studies, our results reveal that individuals prompted with self-reliance lose significant self-regulatory capacity after cooperating as opposed to competing individually, which leads them to act dishonestly (Experiments 1 and 3) and quit a task early (Experiment 2). Together, these findings highlight that cooperation, despite the performance advantages it offers teams, can also contribute to unforeseen costs for highly self-reliant individuals.

Media Use in Virtual Teams of Varying Levels of Coordination

This study was undertaken to provide a more complete understanding of how the selection of various media in virtual team settings affects student team coordination. A total of 75 teams of 304 undergraduate participants took part in the study. Participants were asked to complete surveys before and after the project. Findings suggest that well-coordinated teams appeared to have anticipated the usefulness of social networking and richer communication channels earlier in the project than less well-coordinated teams. After engaging in virtual teamwork, team members identified rich and social channels as more effective while finding less rich channels to be less effective.

Get thee to the gym! A field experiment on improving exercise habits

We explore the efficacy of a combination of interventions to encourage exercise in a field experiment hosted at a large public university. The experimental groups include individuals and teams and those with and without information about peers. We find that team incentives are associated with greater behavior modification (e.g. more gym visits) than individual incentives. Information on peers’ gym attendance (either in a team or individual setting) also promotes more frequent gym use relative to a simple individual incentive. In addition, being in a team and receiving information on peers are effective in changing a non-user of the gym to a user. We also observe that periodic information feedback has a longer-lasting impact on gym attendance than other interventions. Our findings provide insight for any organization seeking to incentivize behavior change in the most efficient, and cost effective, manner.

Development of a German-Language Questionnaire to Measure Collective Orientation as an Individual Attitude

Abstract. The individual attitudes of every single team member are important for team performance. Studies show that each team member’s collective orientation – that is, propensity to work in a collective manner in team settings – enhances the team’s interdependent teamwork. In the German-speaking countries, there was previously no instrument to measure collective orientation. So, I developed and validated a German-language instrument to measure collective orientation. In three studies (N = 1028), I tested the validity of the instrument in terms of its internal structure and relationships with other variables. The results confirm the reliability and validity of the instrument. The instrument also predicts team performance in terms of interdependent teamwork. I discuss differences in established individual variables in team research and the role of collective orientation in teams. In future research, the instrument can be applied to diagnose teamwork deficiencies and evaluate interventions for developing team members’ collective orientation.

Description of membership and enacting membership: Seeing-a-lift, being a team

Researchers in ethnomethodology have found that accounts of action are not identical to actions themselves. This investigation uses video technology to examine the enactment of membership, distinct from the description of membership. This paper takes up this line of inquiry by examining the way in which in situations of team training, in the sport of powerlifting coming together for seeing-the-lift, gazing on a lifter for an extended period, is an affiliative act. Using video data from several different team training settings, in conjunction with Instagram posts, and drawing on the authors’ ethnography and experience in strength training settings, this paper demonstrates that the differing organization of accountabilities in seeing-the-lift highlight that in team settings watching exercise is a collective matter of membership in the team. Thereby this article highlights a practice of embodied action which enacts membership roles in a powerlifting setting.

Web-based software-support for collaborative morphological analysis in real-time

Existing software and procedures for General Morphological Analysis (GMA) are primarily designed for synchronous face-to-face meetings. However, virtual teams and telework are on the rise. Against this background, we analyze current approaches and IT support to identify aspects that need to be reconsidered when GMA is applied in a distributed setting. In cooperation with a German non-profit cultural organization, we have developed browser-based collaborative GMA software that provides multi-user support. This paper presents what we have learned from the development process and the results from two empirical studies on the usability and learnability of the developed software. Based on observations and user feedback from the empirical studies, we conclude that the developed software is a useful IT artefact; more research is needed, however, to investigate the implications of distributed team settings for the application and facilitation of GMA.

First and Second Strings: Using Entity Analytics to Contrast Core and Supporting Teams

This research demonstrates the importance of the concept of the core team (Humphrey et al. in Journal of Applied Psychology 94:48–61, 2009) in contrast to supporting or peripheral members within the context of larger nominal teams. It asks the question, “In a team-oriented organization, should we assume that all nominal team members are, in fact, relatively equal contributors?” Utilizing individual batter, fielder, and pitcher data from the National League from 2005 to 2014, we operationalize the concept of the core group, which is a subset of high-performing members. After testing for aggregation, we found that for core team members, their collective versions of batting average, runs batted in (RBI), and pitching earned run average (ERA) significantly predicted team win-loss percentages with an R2 of .62, p < .0001. The prediction of team attendance based on the performances of the core team was also significant with an R2 of .40, p < .0001. The same three independent variables based solely on supporting players were neither aggregable nor significant. Similarly, results for the nominal teams composed of all players on the roster were also not aggregable. These findings highlight the importance of identifying and managing core members (Fonti et al. Strategic Management Journal 37:1765–1786, 2016). Implications for team settings in management and business settings are discussed. WABA provides a unique multi-level, visual analytical tool for testing the existence of entities for these baseball data. Its application shows very different data configurations for nominal, core, and support subteams and dissimilar patterns of relationships among the key performance variables for each type of team.

Support for Policy Protecting LGBT Student Athletes among Heterosexual Students Participating in Club and Intercollegiate Sports

Athletic spaces on campuses can be hostile for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students. Policies that foster safe sporting spaces are needed. By examining the nature of support for guidelines protecting LGBT athletes among a convenience sample of heterosexual students involved in club and intercollegiate sports (N = 290), this cross-sectional study offers a starting place for institutional leaders who want to implement such policies. Four independent variables were significant in multivariable linear regression analysis: gender, political ideology, knowing an LGBT athlete, and frequency of hearing homophobic language in a team setting. The findings and recommendations provide administrators and staff with insights about areas to address in order to minimize potential student opposition to LGBT anti-discrimination and other LGBT-inclusive policies.

Orchestrating talent development: youth players’ developmental experiences in Scandinavian team sports

The aim of this study was to investigate athletes’ contemporary experiences of their pursuits toward the adult elite level within a Scandinavian team sport setting. The athletes in this study were involved in multiple teams that were led by different coaches. 12 youth handball players, aged 16–17 years, with national team experience were interviewed in-depth. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and an inductive analysis was undertaken. The findings revealed five main themes central to the players’ pursuits: (a) time pressure and prioritising; (b) complimentary influences; (c) conflicting goals and demands; (d) balancing load and recovery; and (e) coordination challenges. The conceptual notion of coach orchestration is shown to be potentially relevant to understanding the role of coaches involved in talent development. In this paper, the concept of coach orchestration is expanded to encompass what coaches must consider to facilitate individual development within and across different team settings.

ACCOUNTING FOR COMPLEMENTARY SKILL SETS: EVALUATING INDIVIDUAL MARGINAL VALUE TO A TEAM IN THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

Identifying an individual worker's contribution to firm production can be difficult in a team setting where spillovers in labor productivity exist among team members. This paper studies a model of labor productivity where workers have heterogeneous abilities, and can differently affect the productivity of their fellow teammates. Applying the model to the setting of the National Basketball Association (NBA), I can identify the marginal value that a basketball player brings to a particular team lineup, both through his own individual contributions and his complementary contribution to teammates' productivity. Estimates from the model imply that teammates have a significant impact on individual player productivity, and that taking into account spillovers across teammates is important to assessing both overall team productivity and an individual player's contribution to team productivity. I then evaluate whether player complementarities are valued in the NBA labor market in terms of higher salaries, and find that they are undervalued, and that players are instead paid mainly for their individual offensive production. This creates an asymmetry between player incentives and the team objective. To assess the size of this inefficiency, the top trading cycle algorithm of Shapley and Scarf (1974) is used to identify a Pareto optimal matching between players and teams, that accounts for the complementarities between heterogeneous players' skill sets. (JEL J30, L25, L83, M51)

Operationalizing the definition of e-leadership: identifying the elements of e-leadership

The effects of the ongoing digital revolution have been profound and have been studied in many contexts such as government interaction with the public (e-participation) and administrative structures (e-administration). However, the study of how the digital revolution has changed leaders’ interactions with followers via information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been modest, and the theory building in organizational studies and public administration has been, for the most part, nonexistent. A major reason for this lack of progress is the inability to produce an operational definition of e-leadership that spans telework, team, and enterprise settings. The article examines an exploratory case study to propose an operational definition based on six factors (or broad e-competencies) for e-leadership. Research limitations and future research opportunities are discussed. Points for practitioners E-leadership, technology-mediated leadership, has become critically important for leaders at all levels, both inside and outside of the organization. E-leadership is as much about blending technologies and traditional communication as it is about simply using more ICT-mediated communication. While there is a lot of consistency in the types of leadership skills needed in traditional and virtual environments, they are not the same and the differences are critical to success and failure. The areas in which competence in e-skills were most important included: e-communication, e-social skills, e-team building, e-change management, e-technology skills, and e-trustworthiness.

Can Different Complex Training Improve the Individual Phenomenon of Post-Activation Potentiation?

The aims of the present study were (a) to determine whether the two types of complex training and vibration complex training would improve the individual phenomenon of post-activation potentiation (PAP) for every athlete in a team setting; and (b) to compare the acute effect of resistance and plyometric exercise, whole body vibration, complex training and vibration complex training on vertical jump performance. The participants were ten male division I college volleyball and basketball players. They were asked to perform three vertical jumps as a pre-test and were then randomly assigned to one of five PAP protocols, resistance exercise using half squat exercise, plyometric exercise using drop jumps with individualized drop height, whole body vibration using squats on a vibration plate, complex training combining resistance exercise with plyometric exercise, vibration complex training combining whole body vibration with plyometric exercise. Three vertical jumps were performed four minutes after the PAP protocol as a post-test. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine the differences among the five PAP protocols and between the two testing times. Our results showed that the post-test results were significantly improved compared to the pre-test for the vertical jump height (p = .015) in all PAP protocols. There was, however, an individual phenomenon of PAP in the response to all PAP protocols. In conclusion, this study found that resistance and plyometric exercise, whole body vibration, complex training and vibration complex training induce similar group PAP benefits. However, some athletes decreased their performances in some of the exercises in the study. Therefore, it is not recommended for coaches to arrange the exercises in a team setting.

Growing Managers: Moving from Team Member to Team Leader

This case describes a newly promoted middle manager in a global, multi-cultural organization who is challenged by a number of factors in the workplace which are impacting her and her team's ability to perform to the expectations of her regional manager. While it would be easy to blame the new manager, deeper analysis in fact reveals that many forces are at work here in addition to her inexperience including communication of strategy and performance objectives, mismanaged team members, cultural inconsistencies, and a lack of leadership direction and/or skill from the very top to her supervising manager.After reading and analyzing the case, students should be able to 1) analyze and diagnose unmet expectations for performance at work, 2) apply motivation theories and constructs to common behavioral and attitudinal challenges in a team setting, and 3) learn to avoid the fundamental attribution error described in the social psychological literature on judgment in decision-making.

Maintaining hope: the intrinsic role of professional support

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the supportive aspects of a team approach for a remote mental health team that report high stability in senior clinical roles, in a region where voluntary turnover is typically high.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study examines the reflections of team members on their role and job characteristics through informal semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe extant themes identified as supportive aspects of the team approach included engagement and both personal and professional support. The intrinsic role of support in remote work environments, and the impact of intrinsic job satisfaction through client-focussed practices further supported low turnover, improved stability and consistency of service provision.Originality/valueContinued support for existing experienced health professionals will contribute to workforce stability in remote regions where needs are complex and continuity of care is improved by consistent, reliable services. With health professionals working in remote Australia reporting high levels of job satisfaction; it follows that the next steps involve minimising dissatisfaction through effective workforce support mechanisms. Health professionals already working in remote regions, suggest that this is about engagement and personal and professional support through flexible work systems. While the findings of this study may not be generalisable, the authors suggest that these supportive aspects are transferable to other multi-disciplinary team settings.

Race, Social Capital, Adjustment, and Intercollegiate Athletics: The Opportunity to Improve Social Acclimation at Academic Institutions

ABSTRACTContemporary research suggests that there is a stratification of adjustment levels for collegiate students. Past scholars have found that ethnic minority students at predominantly White institutions have lower adjustment scores than White students. Further, ethnic minority student-athletes have lower levels of adjustment when on the campus at large, but interestingly they have shown higher levels of adjustment when in the team setting. These circumstances prompted the question: What impact does team social capital have on ethnic minority student-athletes’ adjustment variables? Over 1000 student-athletes were surveyed. Results of the study showed that team social capital is a mediator between race and adjustment. Thus, practical implications are such that athletic teams should consider extending the team concept to the campus environment as much as possible to increase the adjustment of their ethnic minority student-athletes and potentially mitigate some of the negative consequences of the lack of adjustment.

Sharedness of team mental models in the course of design-related interaction between architects and clients

This study deals with the role of mental models in the coordination of team activities during design problem-solving. The work centers on the sharedness of mental models in a design team setting, mainly on the interaction between an architect and two clients. A major goal is to gain insight into how modifications in mental models affect coordination, and how sharedness develops through the process. Our focus is to explore, through a case study, the individual contributions of the architect and the clients to coordination of the work process, and how sharedness of the development of the team mental model evolves in the early stage of concept generation. Our claim is that work teams develop a certain degree of sharedness of the mental models of individual team members during information exchange. This team mental model can be insufficient or even wrong, but as long as the team members feel agreement in the team, they coordinate their work on that basis. Thus, sharedness of mental models is believed to be a powerful team asset, especially when it is reached in the earlier phases of the design process. Our findings suggest that in order to attain sharedness among design team members, design activities related to the task mental model should be encouraged, specifically the generation of new ideas and the analysis of solutions. Implications for practice and education are suggested.

Auricular Prosthesis in Burn Reconstruction

The auricular prosthesis or epithesis is an artificial total or subtotal reconstruction of the auricle. The prominent location of the ear, and its delicate structure make it susceptible to burn injury that usually occurs in conjunction with facial burns, damaging the auricle and local tissues [1]. The goal for ear reconstruction is to restore the aesthetic appearance and provide a superior sulcus to support eyewear [2]. The cosmetic importance of the ear should not be underestimated and dissatisfaction with deformities can result in depression and a lower quality of life [3]. Surgical reconstruction is currently a multistep process utilising autologous costal cartilage, local flaps or MEDPOR implant [4,5]. Prosthetic reconstruction offers a viable alternative [6,7]. These indications include patient choice, failed autologous reconstruction, inadequate local soft tissue and patient comorbidities [8]. The decision on reconstructive technique occurs in a multidisciplinary team setting. Hearing is also an important consideration.

Virtual team effectiveness: The role of knowledge sharing and trust

Organizations utilize virtual teams to gather experts who collaborate online to accomplish organizational tasks. The virtual nature of these teams creates challenges to effective collaboration and team outcomes. This research addresses the social effects of knowledge sharing on virtual teams. We propose a conceptual model which hypothesizes a relationship between knowledge sharing, trust, collaboration, and team effectiveness in virtual team settings. The findings suggest that knowledge sharing positively influences trust and collaboration among virtual team members. The findings also suggest that while trust positively influences virtual team collaboration, it does not have a significant direct effect on team effectiveness.

Number processing ability is connected to longitudinal changes in multiplayer online battle arena skill

The popularity of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games provides an opportunity to examine how cognitive skills are linked with changes in player performance within a team-based game genre. There is evidence that video game experience in other genres is connected with specific cognitive skills such as visuospatial attention and working memory capacity. Links have also been observed outside of video games such as numerical intelligence being correlated with the performance of chess experts. In the present study, we investigated whether numerical and working memory ability measured at an initial time-point predicted changes in MOBA skill and gameplay frequency measured five months later. We observed that participants who scored higher on a number processing task had greater improvements in MOBA skill and that this link depended on the social context of the gameplay. Specifically, numerical skill was linked to player rankings generated from matches where they were paired with random individuals; no connection was observed with gameplay that took place with a familiar set of teammates. The results of the present study extend previous research indicating video gameplay is linked to specific cognitive skills, in the case of MOBAs being numerical processing. We suggest that the difference in the connection with number ability to gameplay with novel and familiar players is in line with evidence that the importance of individual performance and the sense of achievement can be reduced in team settings. We suggest that future research should examine what types of quantitative abilities are indicative of MOBA skill and the impact of those factors relative to social skills.

Yes, we complain … so what?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to theorize and test a model concerning the role of complaining behaviors in work teams. Despite the prevalence of workplace complaining, there is no consensus in the literature regarding the consequences of those behaviors and the extent to which they are harmful.Design/methodology/approachUsing a multisource approach and a team-level design, the authors collected data from 82 teams (i.e. 394 members and their 82 immediate superiors) working in a Canadian public safety organization.FindingsThe results show that complaining behaviors are negatively related to two effectiveness outcomes (i.e. team performance and team process improvement) and that meaningfulness mediates these relationships. The results also reveal that task interdependence moderates the relationship between complaining behaviors and meaningfulness. More specifically, complaining behaviors have a stronger relationship with meaningfulness when the level of task interdependence is high.Originality/valueThe present study contributes to the literature on counterproductive behaviors by deepening the understanding of emergent states and outcomes stemming from workplace complaining, particularly in work teams. The findings of this study highlight the negative consequences that complaining behaviors may have in a team setting, the underlying mechanism involved in these relationships, and the moderating role of task interdependence.