The COVID-19 pandemic was a key event forcing an increase in virtual work. Drawing on event system theory, we examined whether virtual teams showed enhanced processes in later stages of the pandemic compared to the early stages of the pandemic. We collected data from 54 virtual teams (N = 152 individuals) who worked on a 30-minute task. We measured team processes and performance. Virtual teams during

This study explores the leadership-health link from a social identity perspective. It focuses on leadership behaviors that seek to form a strong shared social identity (i.e., identity leadership) and the contextual influence of co-workers’ group identification. In a sample of 319 members in 77 workgroups, data supports the indirect link of identity leadership and reduced symptoms of burnout via perceived

Team virtuality has been mostly conceptualized as structural features, such as the percentage of time team members communicate via technology. However, the perception of distance and of information deficits (team perceived virtuality, TPV) may be an indispensable construct to understand virtual teams’ functioning. The lockdowns imposed on most countries due to COVID-19 created virtual teams with high

Du, J., Chan, L. B., Birnbaum, A., & Lin, X. (2021). Learning Within Teams: A Multilevel Analysis of Team Behavioral Integration and Creativity. Small Group Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496421989415

Drawing on the social categorization perspective, we theorized that team demographic faultlines increase negative group affective tone (NGAT) through reduced group identification, while team member positive impression management behaviors enhance positive group affective tone (PGAT) via enhanced group identification. Data were collected from 523 members of 101 newly formed student teams. Consistent

Although existing studies have shown that shared mental models of information and communication technology (ICT shared mental models) are related to better computer-mediated teamwork, causal effects on team processes and outcomes remain unclear. This study analyzes the effects of ICT shared mental models on team effectiveness indicators via ICT use and team communication. Results based on 69 three-person

Innovation, a process fueled by creativity, is key to organizational survival. The current studies test a multilevel moderated mediation model to explore whether team behavioral integration influences individual creativity in general management teams. Two field surveys were conducted: Study 1 included 356 employees nested in 86 teams; Study 2 included 138 employees nested in 39 teams. Results from

Globally distributed multinational virtual teams (MNVTs) are increasingly prevalent. To better understand communication in MNVTs, we explored the effects of using verbal and written synchronous communication media under different levels of English Language Proficiency (ELP) diversity. The results of data collected from 45 MNVTs, composed of MBA students who worked on a joint project, revealed that

This study analyzes the relation of group formation on outcomes of a 4-week online course for prospective students. Group formation was experimentally manipulated based on predefined criteria, personality traits conscientiousness and extraversion. As research questions, groups were considered advantageous if they were formed (a) heterogeneously in extraversion, and (b) homogeneously in conscientiousness

Substantially advancing the study of teams will require a new research paradigm complete with methods capable of capturing the complex, dynamic process of teamwork. In this paper, we suggest studying teams with an integrated mixed methods approach (i.e., methods defined by an interconnected mix of quantitative and qualitative characteristics) can help address current methodological shortcomings of

Interpersonal affect in face-to-face small groupwork, though pervasive in university and work environments, is rarely examined as the fine-grained sequential interactions in which it manifests. This review synthesized 21 recent studies in tertiary collaborative learning and organizational research that have used observation methods to investigate affect in face-to-face small groupwork. The analysis

The authors elaborate a multilevel model of faultline perceptions across individuals in groups. They develop the concept of individual perceived faultlines and build logic about an individual-level antecedent—expectations for relationship conflict held even before a group is formed. They explain how its impact persists over time to influence individual satisfaction with the group, and how individuals

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected all of society, including teams in organizational settings. Collaborative teamwork is particularly susceptible to pandemic disruptions, as coordination across individuals becomes challenging in socially distanced and virtual contexts. Unfortunately, COVID-19 research thus far has primarily studied individual health and performance. Analysis of 90 open-ended

This study addresses calls for a better understanding of how team interaction mode (e.g. virtual versus face-to-face) moderates the relationship between member attributes and emergent team processes. We use Mullen’s model of salience to explain conflicting predictions and results about the effects of extraversion on leadership emergence in virtual and face-to-face teams. Participants were randomly

Starting in 2007, an award is given each year to the best article published in SGR. The winner of the award is determined by the editorial team through a process that involves first identifying a small set of finalists, then discussing the special merits of their articles, and finally selecting a winner.

Teams are often plagued by internal discord, such as negative relationships, which can impede successful team performance. While most teams eventually encounter negative relationships, we have limited knowledge on how teams manage this negativity. In this article, we expand scholarship on teams by exploring an inherent team characteristic, gender composition, to assess its role in how teams cope with

The comprehensive review synthesizes 64 empirical studies on communication and transactive memory systems (TMS). The results reveal that (a) a TMS forms through communication about expertise; (b) as a TMS develops, communication to allocate information and coordinate retrieval increases, promoting information exchange; and (c) groups update their TMS through communicative learning. However, direct

Dr Susan Wheelan, scientist, author, teacher and practitioner in the field of group research and development, passed away in November of 2019. This article was written to commemorate her life and work.

This paper reports on a qualitative study of how 12 work teams and a project-management team spanned their boundaries in a large engineering project. The study identified two types of boundary-spanning activities. Project-level managers carried out receptive activities in which they spanned boundaries vertically, adapted their management practices, and attuned themselves to the teams. Team-level managers’

Informational diversity is perceived as the key to improving team creativity. However, alignment along multiple informational diversity attributes, known as information-based faultlines, can both provide diverse knowledge and form subgroup bias. The key to reaping the benefits of information-based faultlines is to understand how to utilize the diversified knowledge and, meanwhile, reduce subgroup bias

Transactive memory systems (TMS) facilitate the utilization and coordination of diverse knowledge inputs, and therefore TMS should be particularly important for teams with expertise diversity. However, TMS in diverse teams may be inhibited by conflict. Adopting a conflict perspective, this study examines whether expertise diversity fosters or inhibits TMS in creative teams. Using longitudinal data

Over the last several decades, studies on the relationship between task knowledge diversity and team performance have yielded mixed findings. Extending past studies, we propose that the impact of task knowledge diversity on team performance is dependent on the level of team role clarity and implicit coordination. This study, based on two-wave time-lagged data from 62 teams comprising 336 individuals

Just as social and organizational research has benefited significantly from evolutionary approaches, likewise an understanding of the evolution of teams can advance our knowledge of team formation and functioning. The current paper traces the multilevel emergence of teams as a unique type of group that evolved specially for complex task performance, outlines the evolved mechanisms that enable humans

The role of group bonding (friendship ties among group members) and the relationships between group members and the formal leader in the prediction of effectiveness was studied. A theoretical mediated-moderation process model was tested. The model was examined through a longitudinal research with 91 natural groups, that included social network analysis to capture the relationship between group members

In this manuscript, we conceptualize voice disparity based on the extent to which voice is (un)evenly communicated within a team and demonstrate its empirical utility beyond team aggregate voice. Specifically, we propose that voice disparity is negatively related to task conflict and positively related to relationship conflict, whereas the inverse holds for aggregate voice, and that conflict mediates

In this review, we provide a deeper understanding of the team emergent states (TES) literature by building upon Marks et al.’s cognitive, affective, motivational categories, to suggest that TES may also be amalgams (i.e., a blend of two or more categories). In doing so, we review the literature accumulating between 2000 and 2020, focusing on the eight most-researched TES. We highlight numerous gaps

Guided by the principles of conversation analysis, we examined the communication practices used to negotiate levels of participation in cancer multidisciplinary team meetings and their implications for patient safety. Three cancer teams participated. Thirty-six weekly meetings were video recorded, encompassing 822 case reviews. A cross-section was transcribed using Jefferson notation. We found a low

We investigate whether individual differences predict perceptions of leadership patterns during teamwork. Building on information processing theories, we show that team members’ individual cognitive schemas regarding the distribution of leadership in teams, leadership structure schemas, predict the centralization of individual perceptions of team leadership. Team members’ individual perceptions of

This study explores the relationship between team cohesion and team learning by adopting a nonlinear approach. A quantitative study with a sample composed of 82 organizational teams was conducted. Radial basis function (RBF) interpolation models were used, and results showed that the best predicting ability was obtained by the Thin Plate RBF model, which revealed that an increase in both dimensions

Interdisciplinary teams composed of members with different expertise possess a variety of perspectives, which increases their potential for innovation. In reality, team members often fail to integrate their expertise, resulting in the team not reaching its innovative potential. It is argued the unsharedness of expertise within interdisciplinary teams has an inverted-U relationship with innovation.

At its 50-year milestone, we assess the Small Group Research (SGR) corpus to reflect on the development of group research over the past half century. To do this, we examine the evolution of the corpus’s context and content. We examine its context by assessing its impact, which journals it communicates with, and the internationality of its authors. We examine its content—the topics discussed in its

This article explores how team learning is enhanced through facilitated knowledge sharing, leading to knowledge teams that are capable of identifying knowledge gaps and crossing knowledge boundaries. Based on a qualitative study, vignettes are used to illustrate the dynamics of team learning in different situational contexts, facilitating the way knowledge plays out at the intersection of knowledge

This study focuses on team achievement goals and performance outcomes in interdependent sports teams. Team achievement goals reflect shared motivational states that exist exclusively at the team le...

Leader networking behaviors for innovation (LNBI) is an important yet less studied topic in innovation research. This study investigates the behavioral cascading effect of LNBI on organizational support for innovation. Building on faultline theory and the demographic representativeness approach, we conceptualize vertical faultlines as demographic misalignment across job ranks, and hypothesize their

Scholars have long assumed that members of small groups are more likely to help each other. We argue that, even in a small group with collective rewards, those with an avoidance performance goal or...

Capturing team processes, which are highly dynamic and quickly unfold over time, requires methods that go beyond standard self-report measures. However, quantitative observational methods are challenging when teams are observed in the wild, that is, in their full-situated context. Technologically advanced tools that enable high-resolution measurements in the wild are rare and, when they exist, expensive

Emergent states, like cohesion, and behavioral processes, like coordination, are considered critical for team performance, yet little is known regarding their relative importance over time. Testing several hypotheses and exploring multiple research questions, this study used a laboratory design to better understand the evolution of cohesion–performance and coordination–performance relationships of

Relatively little is known about how the composition of individual conflict management styles affects group functioning. This is unfortunate because, specifically in short-term project groups, this...

A history of school reform failure has prompted concern among literacy researchers and practitioners alike. This article considers the case of a school Literacy Council and its unsuccessful efforts to improve the school’s literacy environment. Mobilizing Janis’s notion of groupthink, I examine discourse among group members and suggest that characteristics of groupthink—problematic antecedents cultivating

Drawing on a social network analysis, we examined the role of social network structure (i.e., friendship network density) as a mediating factor linking team average emotional intelligence (EI) with team task performance and how this relationship is influenced by intrateam trust. The results from 97 teams (466 team members) working on student projects in a business university over a semester indicated

With many employees operating in a multiteam environment, multiple team membership (MTM) has become a critical topic across a number of disciplines. Although MTM research is often regarded as being in its beginning stages, there has been a recent uptick of research. An integration of the literature at this phase allows scholars to see the most pressing challenges and begin to identify general insights

This study reveals how athletic health care teams, embedded within large bureaucratic organizations and complex social systems, negotiate and sustain multiple divergent structures. An iterative analysis of 69 in-depth interviews with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletes’ certified athletic trainers (ATCs) and coaches from four high-contact sports (i.e., women’s lacrosse

The present article explores the effects of individual task conflict asymmetry—a member’s task conflict perception relative to others on the team—on peer ratings of that member’s effectiveness. In two studies of student teams, we find that individuals who perceive more conflict than their teammates are rated as more effective team members. This effect is explained by uncertainty experienced by the

Literature agrees that learning in heterogeneous groups could benefit from support that structures the cooperative process, but has been inconclusive as to what this support should look like. This study investigated the effects of a worksheet that structured a heterogeneous cooperative process. The worksheet addressed the elements of social interdependence theory. Fourth to sixth graders (n = 136)

First responders are on the front line of patient care and service, but research has shown that they are also on the front line of exposure to violence. Currently, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions that prepare first responders to handle violence on the job. With the increase in emergency medical services (EMS) call volume and reports of at least 57% of the EMS responders having experienced

Group work assessment is often described by teachers as complex and challenging, with individual assessment and fair assessment emerging as dilemmas. The aim of this literature review is to explore and systematize research about group work assessment in educational settings. This is an integrated research area consisting of research combining group work and classroom assessment. A database search was

Although prior research has linked being authentic to individual well-being, little is known about authenticity’s external effects, that is, whether being around those who are authentic is good or bad for us. Integrating authenticity research and social penetration theory, we propose that others’ authenticity facilitates a number of positive intra- and interpersonal processes. Using a sample of 715

Researchers have suggested that some personality traits are associated with better team functioning when team members are homogeneous, whereas other personality traits improve team functioning when team members are heterogeneous. This article extends these ideas to team innovation and examines (a) how team variance in extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness relates to innovation

Linguistic style matching (LSM) refers to a similar linguistic style among conversation partners. We examine the effects of LSM on perceived team performance and perceived social support in real work groups. We propose that team tenure moderates the relationship between LSM and perceived performance such that LSM and performance are positively related for teams with low tenure and negatively related

A large body of evidence has concluded that there are positive linear relationships between leadership behaviors and leadership emergence. Drawing on insights from the leadership and teams research, we hypothesized that above certain levels of task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors, such behaviors will have diminishing returns for leadership emergence. Hypotheses were tested using a sample

As health care delivery moves toward more complex, team-based systems, the topic of medical teamwork has gained considerable attention and study across disciplines. This systematic review integrates empirical research on teamwork and health care to identify broad trends. We identified and coded 1,818 relevant, English, and peer-reviewed journal articles using a teamwork processes rubric. Several themes

Many researchers claim that facilitation is a determining factor, if not a necessary condition, for successful deliberative discussion, but little research has applied randomized experimental designs to empirically test such claim. This article analyzes the effect of professionally facilitated versus non-facilitated discussions in a real-life context on participants’ attitudes and the perceived quality

This study aimed to understand how leadership effectiveness of the trainer in a leadership development program can influence emerging leaders’ development and effectiveness. We hypothesized that the trainer’s leadership effectiveness would be a boundary condition. In this two year longitudinal field study, military cadets’ leadership effectiveness from their emergence as informal peer leaders during

This qualitative study explores the convergences of small groups’ joint, positive interactions and regulation in social interaction during collaborative learning. We analyzed the video-recorded social interactions of five groups of student teachers during environmental science tasks. We examined the frequency and functions of the situations in which joint participation and positive socioemotional interaction

This naturalistic study focuses on problem talk (PT) in hospital management group meetings. The study aims to understand how PT constitutes the hospital organization through the different uses of PT within the meetings, and, therefore, to understand the organizing role of these meetings. The communication as constitutive of organization (CCO) perspective forms the theoretical background of the research

This review study aimed to investigate how team work design shapes the impact of team virtuality on team functioning. Based on 48 studies, we identified key work design variables that influence both team functioning, that is, team performance and intermediary outcomes (i.e., team processes and emergent states), under conditions of high virtuality (or in interaction with virtuality). First, while outcome

An increasing number of people with chronic diseases exchange social support using online support groups (OSGs). However, there is little understanding of group communication mechanisms that underpin the relationship between OSG participation and social support. Drawing on Prentice, Miller, and Lightdale’s common-identity and common-bond framework, we propose and test a theoretical model that explains

Despite the fundamental relevance of team boundaries for team research, scholars have rarely explored their origins and characteristics. Instead, team research commonly assumes the existence of formally defined, stable team boundaries. We challenge this assumption by asserting that beyond formal assignment, team members’ individual perceptions of a team’s boundaries are driven by individual-level categorization

Maintaining workplace diversity is an important legal and ethical issue in modern organizations. However, demographic heterogeneity might discourage the development of shared leadership in work teams as individuals are inherently not inclined to share leadership roles with dissimilar others. The present study is designed to investigate how political skill assists team members to overcome interpersonal