Trust In Teammates Research Articles

Exploring Trust in Human–AI Collaboration in the Context of Multiplayer Online Games

Human–AI collaboration has attracted interest from both scholars and practitioners. However, the relationships in human–AI teamwork have not been fully investigated. This study aims to research the influencing factors of trust in AI teammates and the intention to cooperate with AI teammates. We conducted an empirical study by developing a research model of human–AI collaboration. The model presents the influencing mechanisms of interactive characteristics (i.e., perceived anthropomorphism, perceived rapport, and perceived enjoyment), environmental characteristics (i.e., peer influence and facilitating conditions), and personal characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy) on trust in teammates and cooperative intention. A total of 423 valid surveys were collected to test the research model and hypothesized relationships. The results show that perceived rapport, perceived enjoyment, peer influence, facilitating conditions, and self-efficacy positively affect trust in AI teammates. Moreover, self-efficacy and trust positively relate to the intention to cooperate with AI teammates. This study contributes to the teamwork and human–AI collaboration literature by investigating different antecedents of the trust relationship and cooperative intention.

Taking a deeper look inside autonomous and interdependent teams: why, how, and when does informational dissimilarity elicit dysfunctional versus beneficial effects

ABSTRACT Organizations increasingly use cross-functional teams, characterized by autonomy and interdependence, to improve innovation and to adapt to a dynamic business environment. Based on this trend, prior research started to investigate informational dissimilarity (employee’s dissimilarity relative to teammates regarding education, job specialization, and expertise) in teams. Two key team outcomes are 1) team members’ satisfaction with the team and 2) the team’s proactivity. Paradoxically, some researchers reported dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects on employee outcomes, while some reported beneficial effects. To integrate opposing informational dissimilarity effects, we apply the categorization-elaboration model of team diversity. We theorize that perceived informational dissimilarity can elicit simultaneously dysfunctional effects on satisfaction with the team and beneficial effects on the team member’s proactivity. We specify the mechanisms of both effects by investigating the mediating roles of peer unfairness (representing dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects) and information elaboration (representing beneficial informational dissimilarity effects). To reconcile these contradicting processes, we analyse the role of trust. We conducted a survey study at three different measurement time points with team members from different organizations. The results indicate that trust in teammates dampens dysfunctional informational dissimilarity effects and amplifies beneficial effects.

A time to trust? The buffering effect of trust and its temporal variations in the context of high‐reliability teams

SummaryThis study aims to further clarify the functionality of job resources in the context of high‐reliability teams. Combining extant stress models with theoretical considerations from team research, we address temporal variations in the buffering effect of trust in teammates. We hypothesize that trust buffers the negative effect of objective physical activity on perceived strain and that this buffering effect is more pronounced during later performance episodes (i.e., when employees complete a series of temporally distinguishable tasks). We tested the hypotheses with a sample of professional firefighters who completed a sequence of 3 performance episodes in a high‐fidelity simulation environment. Each participant was equipped with a smartphone capturing individual motion activity, which we used as an indicator of physical activity. In line with our hypotheses, multilevel modeling revealed a buffering effect of trust on the relationship between physical activity and perceived strain. Importantly, this buffering effect was more pronounced in the second performance episode as compared with the first performance episode. Our findings add a temporal perspective to the understanding of the effectiveness of job resources. In addition, the current study illustrates the usefulness of smartphones for obtaining behavioral data in a naturalistic setting.

Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity

Considerable theoretical and empirical work has identified a relationship between transformational leadership and team performance and creativity. The mechanisms underlying this link, however, are not well understood. To identify the intervening processes inherent in this relationship, we experimentally manipulated the leadership style assigned to 44 teams taking part in a resource-maximization task. Teams were exposed either to a leader using inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, or a control condition. Our findings reveal important differences between leadership styles in communication and team outcomes (objective task performance and creativity). These results suggest that different dimensions of transformational leadership should be emphasized depending on the outcome sought. In addition, our results provide evidence for a sequential mediation model where leadership influences team outcomes through overall team communication and trust in teammates. This study suggests mechanisms by which transformational leaders may impact team outcomes, which has implications for team building and leadership training.

An assessment of the overlap between morale and work engagement in a nonoperational military sample.

The degree of overlap between two positive motivational constructs-morale and work engagement-was assessed in a random sample of Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed across Canada (N = 1,224). Based on self-determination theory and past research, job-specific self-efficacy, trust in teammates, and job significance were expected to be associated with morale and work engagement. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that morale and work engagement were highly positively correlated, but had different patterns of association with predictor and outcome variables. Although trust in teammates and job significance predicted both morale and work engagement, job-specific self-efficacy predicted morale but not work engagement. Willingness to deploy on operations, turnover intentions, and psychological distress were predicted by both morale and work engagement, but morale was a better predictor of psychological distress and work engagement was a stronger predictor of turnover intentions. Together, the results suggest that, despite their overlap, morale and work engagement, as defined and measured herein, are not interchangeable.

Trust your teammates or bosses? Differential effects of trust on transactive memory, job satisfaction, and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine, in two studies, whether trust in teammates and trust in management influenced transactive memory and how strongly transactive memory, in turn, influenced perceived team performance and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via questionnaires from two samples of employees (n1=383 and n2=40). Regression and mediational analyses were employed to test the hypotheses.Findings – Trust in teammates predicted transactive memory and transactive memory, in turn, predicted perceived team performance and job satisfaction. Trust in management did not predict transactive memory, but it did predict job satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – Data are cross‐sectional and cannot establish cause‐effect‐relationships. Furthermore, objective performance measures could not be obtained due to the nature of the studies. Thus, future studies need to use longitudinal or experimental designs and objective performance measures.Practical implica...

The mediating role of trust in teammates in the relationship between differentiation in leader-member exchange (LMX) and work attitude: An empirical study in China

A fundamental principle of leader–member exchange (LMX) theory is that leaders develop different quality relationships with their employees. However, little research has investigated the impact of LMX differentiation on employees’ work attitude. Therefore, this study examines the mediating influence of trust in teammates on the relationships between perceptions of LMX variability within a team and the work attitude of affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Data were obtained from 225 employees in diverse organizations and occupational groups in Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. The model was tested at the individual level. Controlling for individual-level perceptions of LMX quality, the results revealed that an individual’s perception of LMX variability in their team was negatively related to employee’s affective organizational commitment and positively related to employee turnover intentions, and these two relationships were mediated by reports of relational trust in teammates. Our study thus contributes to a better understanding of the ‘black box’ phenomenon that links LMX differentiation to work attitude and enriches knowledge of the social exchange mechanisms. Key words: Leader–member exchange (LMX), LMX variability, trust, work attitude.