Team Task Interdependence Research Articles

Swiftly judging whom to bring on board: How person perception (accurate or not) influences selection of prospective team members

We develop and test a holistic model of how team members’ swift judgments about a prospective team member impact their selection decisions and how accurate those judgments are in predicting the prospective member’s performance. Applying the social psychology literature on person perception to the organizational literature on team member selection, we argue that team members’ perceptions of the prospective member’s competence primarily shape their predictions about the prospective member’s task-related performance in the team, whereas perceptions of warmth primarily shape predictions about the prospective member’s interpersonal contextual performance in the team. We further propose that, although team members rely on both performance predictions when choosing a prospective member, predicted task-related performance receives more weight than predicted interpersonal contextual performance, and that the importance of predicted interpersonal contextual performance is elevated when team task interdependence is high. Importantly, we theorize that the predictions about task-related performance show good accuracy, whereas the predictions about interpersonal contextual performance do not, which makes the reliance on the latter erroneous. Across two studies utilizing prospective members’ actual task-related and interpersonal contextual performance (objective and peer-rated), as well as team members’ predictions about such performances, we found support for our predictions. Our research resolves several outstanding puzzles in the literature on person perception, integrates it into organizational research, and offers novel and actionable insights for selecting prospective team members.

How and When Power Distance Oriented Leaders Shape Team Leader-member Exchange Configurations

It is an untapped question “How do power distance-oriented leaders differentiate their relationships among the followers?” Integrating role theory and a configurational approach, the present research seeks to examine the effect of leader power distance orientation on different leader-member exchange (LMX) configurations and the relevant boundary conditions. With two-wave data among 645 employees from 119 groups, we tested our hypotheses using binary logistic regressions. The results suggested that leader power distance orientation is positively related to a solo-status high LMX configurations, but not significantly related to a bimodal or solo-status low LMX configurations. Moreover, we found support for the three-way interactions of leader power distance orientation, education diversity, and team task interdependence on LMX configurations, such that when team education diversity is high and task interdependence is low, the positive relationship of leader power distance orientation with the solo-status high LMX configuration and its negative relationship with the bimodal LMX configuration are significant. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in detail.

Leader humility and team creativity: The role of team creative efficacy and task interdependence

Although research on leader humility is developing into a prominent literature, the majority of studies have focused on the dyadic or individual rather than collective outcomes of leader humility. Thus, our understanding of the influencing mechanisms and boundary conditions of leader humility remains limited, particularly on the collective work outcome of team creativity, which requires more voluntary effort from employees. Drawing on social cognitive theory and social interdependence theory, our study investigates how leader humility promotes team creativity through team creative efficacy, with the moderation of a contextual factor, task interdependence. We used a sample of 84 teams and 393 employees surveyed in two waves of data collection. Overall, our study yields a mediated moderation model in which the positive indirect effect of leader humility via team creative efficacy on team creativity is stronger when team task interdependence is low rather than high. This study extends our understanding of how leader humility may influence work teams collectively and how the effectiveness of such a leader characteristic may be influenced by a structural factor of the work team. Other theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

Team Interdependence as a Substitute for Empowering Leadership Contribution to Team Meaningfulness and Performance.

This study uses a relational work design perspective to explore substitutes for leadership behaviors that promote team meaningfulness and performance. We propose that team task interdependence, a structural feature facilitating interaction among team members, can be a substitute for the contributions of empowering leadership. Data were collected from 47 R&D and technology implementation teams across three organizations in a cross-sectional field study. The results revealed that high task interdependence attenuated the contributions of empowering leadership concerning team meaningfulness and, indirectly, to team performance. These findings highlight that the importance of leaders as generators of team meaningfulness is contingent on team relational work design.

Role of Peer Coaching in Transmitting the Benefits of Leader Coaching.

Drawing on social information processing theory, the present study examines how and when leader coaching can be beneficial for team performance. Based on a sample of 58 teams from a sanitary product company in China, we found that peer coaching served as a mediator linking leader coaching and team performance. Moreover, the team individualistic/collectivism value moderated the first-stage relationship that the relationship between leader coaching and peer coaching was more positive when the team individualism value was low, but not significant when the team individualism value was high; while team task interdependence moderated the second-stage relationship that the relationship between peer coaching and team performance was more positive when the team task interdependence was high, but not significant when it was low. The findings enrich our understandings of the effectiveness of leader coaching behavior by uncovering the theoretical mechanism and boundary conditions. The study also provides important implications for coaching practice in organizations.

Beyond individuals’ use of information and communication technologies (ICTs): A multilevel approach in research on ICTs

Comparing these two scenarios, the former team will obviously outperform the latter team at least due to less frequent relational conflicts and higher levels of mutual understanding. [...]these scenarios illustrate differences in telecommuting at the individual and team levels: Specifically, when team telecommuting intensity differentiation is high (vs. low), cooperation and social bonding between team members are likely to be low (vs. high) due to a lack of close interactions and in-depth communications. [...]the negative effect of team telecommuting intensity differentiation on team performance is likely to be aggravated when team task interdependence is high (vs. low). When employees attribute their organization’s HR practices to employee-oriented (vs. employer-oriented), internal (vs. external) motives (i.e., enhanced employee well-being and performance vs. cost reduction or union compliance), they are likely to help each other more and serve their customers better, thus contributing more to their team and organization (Nishi et al., 2008). [...]organizations’ decision makers should help employees form positive attributions about their telecommuting practice and other HR practices through better communications, which can reduce uncertainty for employees and facilitate a better understanding and internalization of various HR practices (Nishii & Paluch, 2018).

Predictors of individually perceived levels of team creativity for teams of nursing students in Taiwan: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The complexity of healthcare and concurrent advances in technology have promoted Interprofessional Education (IPE) in healthcare schools to prepare students to collaborate on interdisciplinary teams. Since 2016, healthcare curricula in Taiwan have incorporated IPE-based capstone courses to enhance creativity. To better understand the predictors of team creativity could help educators improve IPE and outcomes for nursing students and patients. Purpose To determine whether nursing students' demographic characteristics, individual creativity, and perceived team interaction behaviors, team swift trust, team conflict, and team task interdependence may predict high perceived team creativity in IPE settings. Methods A cross-sectional study design included nursing students (N = 99) at a science and technology university in Taiwan. Data from self-report questionnaires included variables for demographic characteristics, individual creativity, and perceived team characteristics. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed predictors of high perceived team creativity. Results Nursing students who perceived high team creativity also perceived higher interaction behaviors and lower process conflict than those who perceived less creativity. Spontaneous communication and team task conflict predicted high perceived team creativity. Conclusions Nursing educators could increase team creativity in IPE by encouraging spontaneous communication and constructive task-oriented conflict management. This may benefit patient outcomes in the future.

Autonomous but Interdependent: The Roles of Initiated and Received Task Interdependence in Distributed Team Coordination

ABSTRACT Distributed team arrangements are becoming “the new normal”. The present study considers the evolution of electronic commerce into an area where operational interaction and coordination of work occurs when previously only commerce occurred. As more teams are moving online, the need to understand the conditions supporting team coordination is becoming increasingly prevalent. By examining the moderating roles of initiated and received task interdependence on the relationship between perceptions of self-management and coordination in distributed teams, we aim to advance research in the area of e-commerce and benefit distributed teams in current and future practice. Results based on a survey of 101 professionals working in distributed teams indicate that the level of team self-management is positively related to perceived coordination when the level of initiated task interdependence within a team is high, as well as when the level of received task interdependence is low. These findings further indicate that initiated and received team task interdependence represent difference team coupling structures that can enable or hinder team coordination. Theoretical and practical implications for the boundary conditions to sustain coordination in self-managing teams are discussed.

Can employee's boundary-spanning behavior exactly promote innovation performance? The roles of creative ideas generation and team task interdependence

PurposeThe complex and changeable working environment makes individual cross-boundary activities inevitable. Yet, how employee's boundary-spanning behavior (BSB) stimulates innovation performance remains to be further explored. This study aims to analyze the intermediary mechanism and boundary conditions between employee's BSB and innovation performance based on knowledge integration theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data in two waves (July and August 2017) and from two hierarchical levels (from the final sample of 286 employees and their 29 direct supervisors) within ten manufacturing firms located in Nanjing and Anhui, China.FindingsThe results indicate that creative ideas generation mediates the relationship between employee's BSB and innovation performance. Moreover, employees with higher levels of team task interdependence (TTI) lead to a stronger relationship between ideas generation and innovation performance compared to lower levels of TTI (positively moderates the second stage of mediation).Practical implicationsBy verifying the key effects of ideas generation and TTI between employee's BSB and innovation performance, the findings of this study provide practical guidance for enterprises to improve the efficiency of employee's BSB.Originality/valueFirst, the authors use knowledge integration theory (Grant, 1996a) to deduce the formation process of the mechanism between employee's BSB and his/her innovation results, which clearly shows the driving forces and integral power of the formation process within an individual knowledge integrating system. The authors’ second contribution is further exploring the conditions under which engaging innovative ideas generated by the integration of employee's BSB is more likely to lead to ideas for implementation by examining TTI as a team-level moderator.

Charismatic Leadership and Work Team Innovative Behavior: the Role of Team Task Interdependence and Team Potency

Although the importance of leadership for innovation processes has been acknowledged, the understanding of the relationships between leadership styles and levels of innovation in work teams is still limited. This study among team managers and team members of 133 Spanish bank branches (i.e., work teams) investigated whether the influence of charismatic leadership on work team innovative behavior comes about via team potency, and whether the relationship between charismatic leadership and team potency is moderated by the level of task interdependence within the team. Data were collected at three different time points. Results of structural equation modeling showed that only at high levels of task interdependence, team managers’ charismatic leadership at time 1 was significantly positively related to an increase in team potency at time 2, which in turn was positively related to manager ratings of their work teams’ innovative behavior at time 3. This means that only at high levels of task interdependence, charismatic leadership had a significant indirect effect on team innovative behavior via team potency. Thus, our study sheds light on the boundary conditions of this effect.

Correction to: Charismatic Leadership and Work Team Innovative Behavior: the Role of Team Task Interdependence and Team Potency

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The captions of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 were exchanged. The correct captions are shown below.

Relationship between Job Crafting and Creativity: Moderating Effects of Perspective Taking and Team Task Interdependence

오늘날 조직에서는 혁신을 위해 구성원들의 창의성을 높이는데 관심이 많다. 이에 조직행동분야에서는 창의성의 선행요인을 밝히고자 하는 여러 연구들이 이뤄지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 창의성을 구성원들이 새롭고 유용한 아이디어의 제안으로 정의하며, 직무 빚어내기가 창의성의 주요한 선행요인이 될 것으로 보았다. 직무 빚어내기란 구성원들이 자신의 업무에 의의를 부여하고, 일의 의미를 변화시키는 주도적 행동이며, 직무 빚어내기를 하는 구성원들은 동기 부여되고, 창의성을 위한 자원을 충분히 확보 할 수 있기 때문이다. 한편, 이러한 직무 빚어내기와 창의성의 관계는 구성원들의 개인 능력이나, 이들이 속한 환경에 의해 달라질 수 있다. 이에 따라 본 연구에서는 개인 수준에서는 타인의 가치나 의견을 받아들이는 방식에 대한 개인의 능력을 의미하는 조망수용의 조절 효과를 팀 수준에서는 팀 과업상호의존성의 조절 효과를 검증하였다. 가설을 검증하기 위해 국내의 다양한 조직에 종사하고 있는 구성원을 대상으로 설문을 실시하였으며, 최종적으로 119개 팀에 속한 529명의 데이터를 활용하였다. 분석 방법은 위계적 선형모형(HLM: Hierarchical Linear Modeling)을 활용하였다. 검증 결과 직무 빚어내기와 창의성은 정적인 관계가 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 개인 수준에서는 조망수용이 높을수록 직무 빚어내기와 창의성의 정적인 관계가 약화 되는 것으로 나타났다. 팀 수준에서는 팀 과업상호의존성이 높을수록 직무 빚어내기와 창의성의 정적인 관계가 강화되는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구의 연구 결과를 바탕으로 봤을 때, 구성원의 직무 빚어내기와 창의성의 관계는 구성원이 자신의 의견을 표현하는데 용이한 환경에 속해 있을 때 강화되는 것으로 해석하여 볼 수 있다. 이러한 본 연구의 연구 결과는 직무 빚어내기와 창의성에 대한 연구 범위를 확장하고, 새로운 방향을 제시하여 줄 수 있을 것이다.As employee creativity is an important source of organizational innovation and competitive advantage, organizations are increasingly seeking to foster individual creativity. Additionally, in many organizations, people work in teams, and individual creativity is often enacted in such a context. Consistent with these trends, researchers’ interest in creativity is gradually increasing. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of job crafting on individual creativity. We also propose the moderating effects of perspective taking and team task interdependence. This study conducted multi- level analysis using HLM (Hierarchical Linear Modeling) while considering the individual and team level simultaneously, as each individual was nested within a team. To test the hypotheses, survey-based data were collected from 529 employees and 118 teams. The results revealed that job crafting was positively associated with individual creativity. Moreover, team task interdependence moderated the relationship between job crafting and creativity, showing that higher team task interdependence brings a stronger positive relationship between job crafting and creativity. On the other hand, we also found that perspective taking moderated the relationship between job crafting and creativity, such that the relationship weakens when employees report higher perspective taking. Based on these results, we discussed the theoretical and managerial implications and suggested some directions for future research on creativity.

Dyadic Viability in Project Teams: the Impact of Liking, Competence, and Task Interdependence

Drawing from social exchange theory and the relational approach to social exchange relationships, we examine liking and competence judgments as predictors of dyadic viability, a new, complementary, operationalization of team viability. We also consider team-level task interdependence as a moderator of these dyadic relationships. Based on data from dyads nested within project teams, we found that both liking and competence significantly relate to teammates’ dyadic viability. Additionally, task interdependence at the team level significantly moderates the dyadic-level effects of liking and competence on dyadic viability, such that the effect of liking judgments is stronger when team task interdependence is high, and the effect of competence judgments is stronger when team task interdependence is low. We also show that aggregated (across team members) measures of dyadic viability are highly similar to proxies that have been classified as team viability in the past—team satisfaction and cohesion. However, the moderating effect of task interdependence was not found with these team-level measures.

Transformational leadership and leader–member exchange in distributed teams: The roles of electronic dependence and team task interdependence

While the use of distributed teams enabled by digital technologies is burgeoning in contemporary organizations, leaders of distributed teams face different challenges than those of co-located teams. Our knowledge about how these differences play out, however, is not yet fully developed. To address this, the present study investigates how transformational leaders may develop high-quality leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships in distributed teams. Based on two field studies of distributed teams in three organizations, the present study examined how the joint effect of electronic dependence and team task interdependence may influence the relationship between transformational leadership and LMX quality. Across both studies, results from three-way interaction analyses demonstrated that transformational leadership related negatively to LMX quality when electronic dependence and task interdependence were both high. Based on the results, we discuss theoretical and practical implications for leaders with a relationship-based approach in distributed teams.

I think you can: transpersonal efficacy in teams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to expand the nomological network of a relational efficacy construct, transpersonal efficacy, and examine its effect on attitudes and behaviors important for team performance. The authors identify several antecedents to transpersonal efficacy, including task interdependence, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The authors also find that transpersonal efficacy is related to relational attitudes and behaviors in teams.Design/methodology/approachThis study consists of an online cross-sectional survey completed by participants representing a wide range of occupations, team types, contexts and industries. Participants reported on their working relationships with team members and various behavioral outcomes. Participants used the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to describe their teammates’ job requirements and to evaluate each teammate’s ability to complete required tasks. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test hypotheses.FindingsFindings suggest that people in highly interdependent teams have more confidence in their teammates. Further, transpersonal efficacy predicts relationship, task and process conflict when controlling for team task interdependence and virtualness, along with individual differences including agreeableness and conscientiousness. Transpersonal efficacy also contributes to the prediction of relationship conflict beyond the explained variance of collective efficacy.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to our understanding of individuals in teams by using social cognitive theory, expectancy theory and uncertainty reduction theory as a base for predicting the value of transpersonal efficacy in driving relational team behaviors. The authors uniquely consider efficacy as an interpersonal construct that is related to individual behaviors and attitudes that target specific teammates, rather than the team as a whole.

Managing the Trade-Off Between Delegation and Task Interdependence in Creative Teams

In this study we analyze the interactive effects of delegation of decision rights (task autonomy) and team task interdependence on creative team performance. Creative teams are characterized by a h...

Managing the Trade-Off between Delegation and Task Interdependence in Creative Teams: The Role of Personnel and Cultural Controls

In this study we analyze the interactive effects of delegation of decision rights (task autonomy) and team task interdependence on creative team performance. Creative teams are characterized by a high requirement for both autonomy and task interdependence, suggesting that ideally creative teamwork should be designed in a way that both are maximized. However, we expect that giving team members higher autonomy will in fact undermine the positive effect of more task interdependence on team creativity and vice versa. Most importantly, while the trade-off between autonomy and team task interdependence is inherent in the nature of creative work, we argue that some creative teams are better able to deal with this trade-off than others, depending on the presence of selection, training and cultural control as mechanisms for supporting successful team self-control. Such clan control enables teams to efficiently self-manage and self-regulate team activities in order to reconcile high task interdependence and high task autonomy (team self-control). We test our hypotheses using survey data collected from 101 teams and 372 individuals in 53 marketing agencies, and find evidence that is consistent with our predictions.

A Meta-Analysis of Different Forms of Shared Leadership–Team Performance Relations

Using 50 effect sizes from both published and unpublished studies (team n = 3,198), we provide meta-analytic support for the positive relationship between shared leadership and team performance. Employing a random effects model, we found that the theoretical foundation and associated measurement techniques used to index shared leadership significantly moderated effect size estimates. Specifically, as compared to studies that conceptualized and employed assessments of overall shared leadership from members (i.e., an aggregation approach), network conceptions and measures of shared leadership evidenced higher effect sizes. Both network density and (de)centralization approaches to the study of shared leadership–performance relations exhibited significant and higher effect sizes than did the aggregation-based studies. Analyses also revealed lower average effect sizes when the sample studied was in the classroom/lab as compared to the field. Task complexity significantly moderated the shared leadership, with lower effect sizes observed with more complex tasks. No significant influence of team task interdependence was observed. We highlight the relative value of employing social network theories and measures as compared to aggregate theories and measures of shared leadership. Directions for future research and application are discussed.

Cross-Level Effects of Team Task Interdependence on the Relationship Between Learning Goal Orientation and Feedback-Seeking Behaviors

The primary goal of this study was to examine the cross-level impact of team task interdependence (TTI) on employees’ feedback-seeking behaviors. To achieve this goal, this study empirically tested the multilevel effect of TTI on an individual-level motivator—learning goal orientation (LGO)—of feedback-seeking behaviors. A set of multilevel data was analyzed through hierarchical linear modeling. Through the analysis, this study could prove the significant roles of LGO and TTI.

Effects of Leader Unpredictability on Team Power Struggles and Performance

Unpredictable leaders provide an intimidating face to their group’s opponents. However, within their own team, the effects of leader unpredictability on intrateam dynamics and outcomes are not yet fully understood. Here we investigate the possibility that unpredictable leaders may create intrateam power struggles and harm individual and team performance, especially when teams have low interdependence. In a first laboratory study, we find support for this notion that leader unpredictability causes followers to engage in intrateam power struggles, which impede their individual task performance. These effects are most likely when team goal interdependence is low. In a second field study of 245 bank branch offices, we find that the offices of more unpredictable leaders have higher internal power struggles, and thereby lower office financial performance, especially when team task interdependence is low.