Team Performance Study: Determining the Factors that Influence High Performance in Teams

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study, in the initial stages, which will attempt to determine the factors that differentiate high performance work teams from teams whose performance is good, but not exceptional. The teams in the study are in the U. S. supplier network of a large global automotive manufacturer. The researchers will use surveys, interviews, and observations to test models that, based on the literature, suggest factors that influence team performance, including innovation as a measure of performance. Multiple perspectives will be employed, including: the strategic lens (structure/ambidexterity), the temporal lens (entrainment) and the organization behavior lens (mental models and ambidexterity). In Phase 1, the research team will visit several supplier plants to determine the factors to be examined. In Phase 2, the researchers will conduct in-depth studies in some workplaces followed by tests of findings in different workplace environments. The goal of our study of work teams is not only to advance the literature of team performance, but also to provide important implications to managers of all team-based organizations

Addressing the temporal fit of institutions: the regulation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in Europe

Peer reviewe

Work rhythm, flow and success in a project : a case study research

Organisations and individuals are shaped and influenced by their environment and interaction with others in a conscious or unconscious manner. Due to increased competitiveness, organisations need to be aware of elements in their environment and how these can affect operations and outcomes. Rhythms in organisations and the employee’s work rhythms are considered to influence flow and the achieved level of success in organisations. This thesis aims to investigate factors setting the work rhythms for organisations and individuals, and to study whether work rhythms influence flow and level of success. Our research question was: “What factors sets the work rhythm and how does the work rhythm influence flow and level of success?” The theoretical foundation that was used to approach this research question, were various terminologies within the field of rhythm, flow and success. Thereafter, a case study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. This study is based on interviews with workers in “Nor-Oil”, an organisation working within the petroleum industry. Nor-Oil was responsible for one part of the project studied in this case, project Alpha. Nor-Oil had many challenges during this project, where some of these were considered to influence rhythm and flow of the workers and the level of success. Through this study, we found that the main internal factors setting the work rhythm were: insufficient planning in project organisation, no clear and realistic schedules, contract workers, structured and informative handover meetings and unstructured and inefficient project meetings, in addition to the external factor Acknowledgement of Compliance. In project Alpha, we found that the good temperamental job-fit of the workers was most likely a factor influencing the work rhythm in a positive way. The experience of flow was present for some of the workers, but it become clear that it was a highly individual factor. From this we can state that flow is not a prerequisite for gaining success. Project Alpha maintained the quality of work and was completed within the final deadline, while costs were understood as non-relevant factor for the level of success of project Alpha. From this we can state that factors setting the work rhythm can have an influence on flow, however flow is not a prerequisite for success. However, other success factors can also determine the level of success for project Alpha. One of these is the end-user, since the end-user appeared to be satisfied with the product. Based on our findings, we suggest some improvements for future projects. We believe these factors will increase work rhythm and flow in similar projects. These are the following: • Having a clear and updated organisational matrix • Distributing information to the right people • Prioritising efficient meetings

Metapopulation perspective to institutional fit : maintenance of dynamic habitat networks

Species living in metapopulations depend on connected habitat networks for their survival. If habitat networks experience fast temporal dynamics, species conservation requires preventing habitat discontinuities that could lead to metapopulation extinctions. However, few institutional solutions exist for the maintenance of spatiotemporally dynamic habitat networks outside of protected areas. To explore this often neglected problem, we studied the institutional fit of false heath fritillary (Melitaea diamina) conservation in Finland from the perspective of conservation institutions' ability to manage early successional habitat availability for this endangered species. We identified four institutional arrangements that enable effective conservation management of dynamic habitat networks: (1) acknowledgment of habitat dynamics, (2) monitoring of and responding to changes in the habitat network, (3) management of resources for fluctuating resource needs, and (4) scaling of activities through flexible collaborations. These arrangements provide the institutional flexibility needed for responding to temporal changes in habitat availability.Peer reviewe

Variability and Synchronization of M&A and Alliance Behavior: An Entrainment View

We extend the M&A and alliances literature to include a temporal perspective focusing on when and under what conditions firms should accelerate or slow down their M&A and alliance initiatives. Using a social entrainment model, we explore the relationship between the temporal properties of variability, synchronization and firm performance. We test our model in the context of the U.S specialty pharmaceutical industry. We find a curvilinear relationship between the overall variability of strategic actions and performance. Establishing internal synchronization increases performance while external synchronization of variability with competitors reveals a more complex picture. Our study further opens the window for understanding the creation of competitive advantage by managing rhythm-type strategic actions against time

Agentic misfit: an empirical demonstration of non-matching human agency amid complexity

Alignment of organizations with external imperatives is seen as a sine qua non of proper organizing and strategizing by many fit and complexity scholars. Any deviation from this management mantra engenders organizational decline and, ultimately, mortality. We put this axiomatic principle under empirical scrutiny and use the law of requisite variety as our organizing principle to do so. The law is an iconic cornerstone of this matching contingency logic and it has served to legitimize a wide range of fit decisions in e.g., leadership, organizational learning or corporate governance. Inspired by organizational vignettes inhabiting antithetical complexity regimes, we introduce a novel concept, which we label as ‘agentic misfit’. In this way, we deconstruct deterministic assumptions related to environmental fittingness, we challenge teleological orientations in the fit literature and, we flesh out the viability of non-matching human agency amid complexity

Social Media in a Social Phenomenon: Social Media in the Entrainment of Contention to Innovation

In this inductive theory building paper, I examine the impact of social media on a social phenomenon. I particularly focus on a social phenomenon that concerns firms—the entrainment of contention to innovation. The entrainment of contention to innovation is defined as the alignment of the pace and/or timing of contention (e.g., opposition, petition, protest) with those of firms’ innovation. To examine the impact of social media on that entrainment, I first examine the entrainment of contention to innovation in general and then look into the innovation-contention entrainment by innovation type. Based on this, I finally examine the societal impact of social media. I focus on the energy sector and gather such qualitative data as patents, news releases, and the texts on social media. I perform a content analysis on those data and graphically analyze the outcomes of the content analysis. Preliminary findings will be presented at the conference

Pluralized leadership in complex organizations : exploring the cross network effects between leadership influence and informal network relations

Understanding the connection between leadership and informal social network structures is important in advancing understanding of the enactment of pluralized leadership. in this article we explore how the enactment of pluralized leadership is shaped by leadership influence and informal (advice and support) networks and the interactions between the two. building on recent developments in exponential random graph modeling, we empirically model the cross network effects across three leadership networks and explore different forms of cross network effects and under what conditions they occur. our findings suggest that patterns of pluralized leadership have important endogenous qualities, as shaped through actors’ leadership and informal networks, and are important for understanding the required capability for facing increasingly complex organizational situations

A Multidimensional Conceptualization of Environmental Velocity

Environmental velocity has emerged as an important concept but remains theoretically underdeveloped, particularly with respect to its multidimensionality. In response, we develop a framework that examines the variations in velocity across multiple dimensions of the environment (homology) and the causal linkages between those velocities (coupling). We then propose four velocity regimes based on different patterns of homology and coupling and argue that the conditions of each regime have important implications for organizations

The clock is ticking! Executive temporal depth, industry velocity, and competitive aggressiveness

We examine how the interplay between executive temporal depth (time horizons that executives consider when contemplating past and future events) and industry velocity (the rate at which new opportunities emerge and disappear in an industry) shapes competitive aggressiveness (a firm's propensity to challenge rivals directly and intensely in order to maintain or improve its market position) and firm performance. Based on panel data (from 1995 to 2000) from 258 firms in 23 industries, we found that executive temporal depth exhibited different patterns of relationships with competitive aggressiveness in low- and high-velocity industries. Moreover, competitive aggressiveness had a positive main effect on firm performance, but this effect was stronger in high-velocity industries than in low-velocity industries