Jan van Rijswijk, Petru Lucian Curseu and Lise A. van Oortmerssen
This study aims to test a moderated mediation model of the relationship between neurodiversity and team performance, mediated by social cognitive integration and positively…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to test a moderated mediation model of the relationship between neurodiversity and team performance, mediated by social cognitive integration and positively moderated by horizontal cognitive differentiation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used neurodiversity survey data from 40 intact organizational teams, including data from all team members and their leaders, and tested the moderated mediation model using bootstrapping. Neurodivergent conditions, horizontal cognitive differentiation (i.e. the distribution of knowledge and expertise among team members, expanding the range of available cognitive resources) and social cognitive integration (i.e. a collaborative process of knowledge sharing, evaluation and elaboration) were evaluated by team members, and team performance was evaluated by the leaders.
Findings
The results show that neurodiversity fosters social cognitive integration in teams only when horizontal cognitive differentiation is high. Moreover, social cognitive integration mediates the association between neurodiversity and team performance, whereas the remaining main effect of neurodiversity on team performance is positive and significant.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge that examines neurodiversity in organizational settings and presents one of the first empirical tests of the relation between neurodiversity and team outcomes, building on the combination of cognitive differentiation and integration.
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Pascal Dussart, Lise A. van Oortmerssen and Bé Albronda
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross-functional team (CFT) members’ points of view on knowledge integration.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross-functional team (CFT) members’ points of view on knowledge integration.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted using Q methodology. The 22 respondents were members of CFTs in information systems development within 7 agencies of the Flemish Government administration.
Findings
The study resulted in three distinct perspectives. To the CFT player, the benefits and added value of information and knowledge diversity of CFTs outweigh the challenges of knowledge integration. By contrast, the CFT sceptic is doubtful that knowledge integration in CFTs can ever work at all. Finally, the organization critic highlights the lack of support from the organization for efficient and effective knowledge integration in CFTs.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study suggest that CFT configurations have important implications for the development of shared team mental models and for teams’ cognitive performance.
Practical implications
Making CFT members aware of their peers’ mental models, ways of working and priorities could help strengthen knowledge integration. To improve knowledge integration in teams, managers should reduce knowledge boundaries that are the result of organizational structuring and power play between departments.
Originality/value
By focusing on daily experiences with knowledge integration, this study reveals that members of CFTs in information systems development hold contrasting perspectives on, and diverging attitudes towards, knowledge integration.
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Lise A. van Oortmerssen, Ellen R. Peeters, Albert Kampermann and Ira van Montfoort
The Q method is an inherently mixed-method approach suitable for tackling issues regarding theory, conceptualization and operationalization in the social sciences. Nevertheless…
Abstract
Purpose
The Q method is an inherently mixed-method approach suitable for tackling issues regarding theory, conceptualization and operationalization in the social sciences. Nevertheless, the application of this method in organizational behavior (OB) studies is still limited. This paper aims to delineate to what extent, regarding what topics, and in what ways the Q method has been applied in OB studies. Moreover, it aims to systematically explore the strengths and weaknesses of this method for the OB field.
Design/methodology/approach
We present a systematic literature review of 47 studies employing the Q method in OB research.
Findings
There is an upward trend in the application of Q in OB research. The studies in our sample address the following OB topics: Human resource management (HRM) (14), leadership (10), group decision-making (6), collaboration (4), culture (9) and organizational change and development (4). We describe how Q is used in a wide variety of ways.
Practical implications
This study shows how performance-oriented organizations can benefit from the Q method as a managerial diagnostic and intervention tool in organizational change and development and in human resources management.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review on the Q method that spans the field of organizational behavior across topics and research levels, including the individual, team and organizational levels.