Christopher H. Thomas, Foster Roberts, Milorad M. Novicevic, Anthony P. Ammeter and Dragan Loncar
In this chapter we examine various human resource management (HRM) implications involved in the leadership of fluid teams. Leadership of fluid teams, which are distinguished by…
Abstract
In this chapter we examine various human resource management (HRM) implications involved in the leadership of fluid teams. Leadership of fluid teams, which are distinguished by their dynamic composition, requires consideration of issues that may not be as pertinent for stable teams. In particular, we focus on the concept of familiarity. Composing and leading teams with members exhibiting varying degrees of familiarity with one another creates obstacles to effective and efficient functioning and may ultimately lead to poor performance. With this in mind, leaders must pay particular attention to issues of coordination, and composition such that a broad range of generalizable teamwork skills exists within the team. Within this chapter, we explain the concepts of fluid teams, team leadership within fluid teams, and other relevant concepts related to the formation of familiarity. Next, we thoroughly review extant empirical and theoretical research within these areas. We identify areas of correspondence among the various concepts and findings of the reviewed studies and generate an integrated model of fluid team leadership. To conclude, we highlight the distinct HRM implications associated with the use, and leadership, of fluid teams.
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Arieh Riskin, Peter Bamberger, Amir Erez and Aya Zeiger
Incivility is widespread in the workplace and has been shown to have significant affective and behavioral consequences. However, the authors still have a limited understanding as…
Abstract
Incivility is widespread in the workplace and has been shown to have significant affective and behavioral consequences. However, the authors still have a limited understanding as to whether, how and when discrete incivility events impact team performance. Adopting a resource depletion perspective and focusing on the cognitive implications of such events, the authors introduce a multi-level model linking the adverse effects of such events on team members’ working memory – the “workbench” of the cognitive system where most planning, analyses, and management of goals occur – to team effectiveness. The model which the authors develop proposes that that uncivil interpersonal behavior in general, and rudeness – a central manifestation of incivility – in particular, may place a significant drain on individuals’ working memory capacity, affecting team effectiveness via its effects on individual performance and coordination-related team emergent states and action-phase processes. In the context of this model, the authors offer an overarching framework for making sense of disparate findings regarding how, why and when incivility affects performance outcomes at multiple levels. More specifically, the authors use this framework to: (a) suggest how individual-level cognitive impairment and weakened coordinative team processes may mediate these incivility-based effects, and (b) explain how event, context, and individual difference factors moderators may attenuate or exacerbate these cognition-mediated effects.
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Strategy scholars have long argued that breakthrough innovation is generated by recombining knowledge from distant domains. Even if firms have the ability to access and absorb…
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Strategy scholars have long argued that breakthrough innovation is generated by recombining knowledge from distant domains. Even if firms have the ability to access and absorb knowledge from distant domains, however, they may fail to pay attention to such knowledge because it is seemingly irrelevant to their tasks. We draw attention to this problem of knowledge relevance and develop a theoretical model to illuminate how ideas from seemingly irrelevant (i.e., peripheral) domains can generate breakthrough innovation through the cognitive process of analogical reasoning, as well as the conditions under which this is more likely to occur. We situate our theoretical model in the context of teams in order to develop insight into the microfoundations of knowledge recombination within firms. Our model reveals paradoxical requirements for teams that help to explain why breakthrough innovation is so difficult.
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Francesca Gino, Gergana Todorova, Ella Miron-Spektor and Linda Argote
This chapter presents a theoretical framework for the effects of prior task experience on team creativity. We distinguish among different types of experience within teams, namely…
Abstract
This chapter presents a theoretical framework for the effects of prior task experience on team creativity. We distinguish among different types of experience within teams, namely direct and indirect prior task experience. We argue that different types of prior task experience differentially influence team creativity, and that the prior experience–creativity relationship is mediated by the development and use of transactive memory systems (TMS). We also argue that team characteristics such as identity and communication moderate the effect of prior task experience on TMS, and task characteristics such as uncertainty and interdependence moderate the effect of TMS on group creativity.
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Fredrik Sunnemark, Wilma Lundqvist Westin, Tamy Al Saad and Per Assmo
This study aims to explore barriers and facilitators for knowledge transfer and learning processes by examining a cross-departmental collaborative project in the municipal…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore barriers and facilitators for knowledge transfer and learning processes by examining a cross-departmental collaborative project in the municipal organization. It is based on a R&D collaboration between University West and a Swedish municipality.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the barriers and facilitators, the data collection was made through observation of the project implementation process, as well as 20 interviews with public servants and external actors. To conduct a systematic qualitative-oriented content analysis, the article constructs and applies a theoretical analytical framework consisting of different factors influencing knowledge transfer and learning processes within a municipal organizational setting.
Findings
This study explores the facilitators and barriers to knowledge transfer and learning processes, specifically focusing on strategic communication, individual roles, common goals, time pressure, group learning, trust and relationships and absorptive capability. Lack of communication affected the group learning process, while the close relation between time pressure, group learning and trust in colleagues is also pointed out as crucial areas. Trust developed through dialogue efforts helped overcome project fatigue. Coaching with a human rights-based approach improved organizational absorptive capabilities.
Originality/value
The study gives important insights into organizational learning within a municipality in Sweden for the successful implementation of collaborative projects. Knowledge must be transferred for the organization to learn to develop and tackle future challenges and its complex responsibilities. The theoretical analytical framework provided in this article has proven to be effective and is therefore transferable to other organizations in both the public and private sectors.
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Youngjin Yoo and Prasert Kanawattanachai
In this study, we examine the developments of transactive memory systems and collective mind and their influence on performance in virtual teams. Although one of the oft‐cited…
Abstract
In this study, we examine the developments of transactive memory systems and collective mind and their influence on performance in virtual teams. Although one of the oft‐cited benefits of the virtual team is the ability of its members to contribute diverse knowledge and expertise, the question of how virtual team members can bring their respective knowledge and expertise to solve the problems they face has been largely ignored in the past research on virtual teams. Building on an emerging body of socio‐cognitive literature, we argue that transactive memory systems and the collective mind are two important variables that explain team performance. We tested our hypotheses with a longitudinal data set that was collected from 38 virtual teams of graduate management students from six universities in four countries over eight weeks. The results suggest that the influence of team members' early communication volume on team performance decreases as teams develop transactive memory systems and a collective mind. The results further suggest that the development of a collective mind represents a high‐order learning in team settings.
Neta A. Moye and Claus W. Langfred
We investigated the role of task and relationship conflict as mediators of the relationship between information sharing and group performance. We suggest that, in addition to the…
Abstract
We investigated the role of task and relationship conflict as mediators of the relationship between information sharing and group performance. We suggest that, in addition to the commonly studied effect of conflict on information sharing, the reverse causal direction is theoretically likely and relevant in today's business climate. Specifically, we hypothesize that information sharing will reduce both task and relationship conflict with beneficial effects on team performance in established groups. We also explore boundary conditions to these conflict‐reducing effects of information sharing, suggesting that the lower a group's task interdependence, the more information sharing reduces task conflict, and the lower a group's average general mental ability, the more information sharing reduces relationship conflict. Analysis of data from 38 groups supported our expectations, revealing the expected negative relationships between information sharing and both task and relationship conflict, as well as the expected moderating effects of task interdependence and general mental ability.
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The commentary discusses connections between Jelinek’s analysis of strategic change and research on organizational learning. Points of convergence and divergence between the…
Abstract
The commentary discusses connections between Jelinek’s analysis of strategic change and research on organizational learning. Points of convergence and divergence between the strategic change case and the organizational learning literature are identified in three areas: the role of experience in organizational learning, knowledge transfer within and between organizations, and the embedding of individual knowledge in organizational memory systems and supra-individual routines. Directions for future research are suggested.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation. Several recent studies have discussed the positive…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation. Several recent studies have discussed the positive relationship between these two entities. Yet, very few studies have demonstrated how transactive memory systems are related to leadership and innovation. This study investigates this tripartite relationship, finding that developmental leadership exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
In examining this relationship, 224 participants from an electronics company in South Korea were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to enable the identification of simultaneous interactive relationships among the three research variables.
Findings
Contrary to previous research results, transactive memory systems were found not to be significantly related to organizational innovation. Results also indicated that transactive memory systems comprise a statistically significant variable that influences developmental leadership. Subsequently, developmental leadership can be considered to be a valid construct in predicting organizational innovation; it can also be seen to fully mediate the relationship between transactive memory systems and organizational innovation.
Originality/value
These results have theoretical and managerial implications. As transactive memory systems do not always precede organizational innovation, knowledge of “who knows what” is not enough to ensure innovative performances. To accelerate organizational innovation, intentional managerial interventions such as developmental leadership are accordingly necessary.