Yunchen Gong, Peng Zhang, Kaiping Peng and Xiaolei Zhang
This study aims to develop a comprehensive measurement that consists of the most significant indicators of team effectiveness. Based on the input-mediator-outcome model, this…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a comprehensive measurement that consists of the most significant indicators of team effectiveness. Based on the input-mediator-outcome model, this measurement assesses two main aspects related to team effectiveness: team processes and emergent states (TPES).
Design/methodology/approach
The scale was developed and validated following three major steps. First, items were generated through literature reviews and expert reviews. Second, a pretest was conducted to refine the scale among 755 Chinese employees recruited on a survey service platform. Finally, in the evaluation section, 3,950 samples were used for scale validation, including a predictive validity test examining the relationship between TPES and team outcomes among 3,550 participants in paired samples (team members and leaders), from 381 work teams from several private companies in IT industries in China.
Findings
The TPES scale measures the team members’ interactions and the team status, consists of five dimensions: goal and role, collaboration, innovation, motivation and cohesiveness, showing acceptable reliability, validity and model fit. The five dimensions show significant positive effects on team performance and members’ satisfaction.
Originality/value
This novel measure of team process and emergent state tailored to IT companies provides a way to comprehensively diagnose a team’s strengths and/or weaknesses, thus suggesting directions for team development.