The Influence of Subgroup Dynamics on Knowledge Coordination in Distributed Teams: A Transactive Memory System and Group Faultline Perspective

With the rapid growth of globalization, distributed teams have become increasingly common in organizations. This research investigates the impact of inter-subgroup dynamics on knowledge coordination in distributed teams. To address this research question, we extend and apply theory from two primary sources – Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) theory and the faultline model. The paper uses data collected from 22 distributed MBA student teams to provide several novel insights into how perceived faultlines impact team processes (knowledge coordination) and outcomes (team performance and member satisfaction). First, perceived faultlines reduce knowledge coordination, which is an important antecedent of team performance and member satisfaction. Second, knowledge coordination fully mediates the negative effect of perceived faultines on team performance and member satisfaction. Third, low levels of TMS not only impair performance, but also reduce member satisfaction in distributed teams. Implications for research and practice are discussed together with potential avenues for future research

Unlocking the performance potential of functionally diverse teams: The paradoxical role of leader mood

In a multisource, lagged design field study of 66 consulting teams, we investigated the role of leader mood in unlocking the performance potential of functionally diverse teams. In line with our hypotheses, we found that, given high levels of leader positive mood, functional diversity was positively related to collective team identification. In contrast, given high levels of l

Traversing the Digital Frontier: Culture\u27s Impact on Faultline Emergence in Virtual Teams

As organizations continue to spread across geographic boundaries, we must understand the complex interplay between an individual\u27s cultural values and the effects of distribution. Despite the fact that almost half of all organizations utilize virtual tools to collaborate across nations, there is a dearth of research on this topic. Without considering cultural differences in this context, issues can emerge ranging from increased social loafing to decreased trust. In this study, I argue that the lack of social cues in virtual teams renders high-/low-context cultural differences imperative and that variations therein can cause the emergence of faultlines, thereby leading to negative team outcomes. This study uses data from 135 global virtual teams engaged in a decision-making task over the course of three weeks to test these ideas. These data show that in the global virtual team context, task conflict does not significantly impact proximal outcomes like faultline emergence, nor distal outcomes such as effectiveness. However, it stresses the importance of avoiding relationship conflict in these teams, as they can both trigger faultline emergence and impact a team\u27s viability. As such, it serves to answer the calls of multiple researchers by merging the interconnected contexts of virtuality and national culture and by moving beyond the Hofstede (1984) cultural dimensions. Additionally, it furthers faultlines research by uncovering antecedents of their emergence in this unique context. Finally, the incorporation of an exploratory machine learning component takes the first step towards showing that faultline emergence can be predicted based on individual differences, with deep-level characteristics mattering more

Visualization of Cluster Structure and Separation in Multivariate Mixed Data: A Case Study of Diversity Faultlines in Work Teams

In organizational management, researchers and managers study separations or faultlines that occur in diverse teams when members form subgroups based on the alignment of multiple demographic characteristics. The team faultline concept is operationalized using multivariate cluster analysis—analysts use faultline measures to identify subgroups/clusters in a team and to quantify how subgroups/clusters are separated. Unfortunately, these measures have limited capacity to enable users to observe and explore faultlines and subgroup structure across the examined attributes efficiently. We address this problem and make three contributions. First, we propose a visual representation for communicating faultline information that is based on multiple linked, stacked histograms in an axis-parallel layout. Second, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed technique in a controlled user study, comparing it to the two other common multivariate representations of clusters: parallel coordinates and scatter plot matrices. While we chose faultline-related tasks based on the requirements by domain experts in organizational management, the study findings can be generalized to representations and tasks involving distributions of clusters of multivariate objects in mixed-type data. Finally, inspired by geological faultlines, we propose several visual enhancements to stacked histograms to further facilitate the task of identifying “cracks” within work teams.Keywords: evaluation, faultlines, clustering, cluster separation, stacked histograms, user study, functional diversit

Organization Conflict and Industrial Harmony: A Synthesis of Literature

Conflict is a form of disagreement between individuals, groups or institutions. Conflict management refers to the long term management of intractable conflict. The objective of this study is to synthesis the relationship between conflict management and industrial harmony. This literature review offers a synthesis of the past and contemporary studies about conflict and types of conflict. Factors that influence the existence of such disagreements and change them into dysfunctional or functional conflicts were explored. Conflict school of thought includes; the human relations school of thought, the traditional school of thought, and international school of thought. Conflict is a cognizance issue, Conflict processes includes; Cognition and personification, potential opposition, intentions, behaviour and outcomes.  The study uses qualitative and descriptive design to deduce its conclusion. The review also identifies conflict sources, management and relationship between factors that trigger, promote or diminish organizational conflict. The study conclude that an understanding about the different types of conflict and the influence of its components on group productivity can allow the management and team leaders to decide how to pursue with conflict handling. It can also help them in making decision about mitigating the occurrence of negative conflict in future, while maximizing on the constructive potential of conflict and also that if conflict is well managed it can bring about industrial harmony and productivity. Keywords: Organizational Conflicts, management, procedural, Resolution, Negotiation, Industrial Harmony

A Multilevel Review of Curvilinear Effects on the Creative Work of Teams

Their positive potential often diminishes or even turns negative when antecedents of creativity are taken too far. Despite empirical evidence supporting such curvilinear effects on important outcomes of creative work at the individual and team levels, their theorizing remains rather incomplete, with more attention being paid to explaining the curves’ upward rather than downward slopes. By developing a multilevel antecedent-benefit-cost (ABC) framework that synthesizes 120 quantitative-empirical studies on curvilinear effects, this review guides creativity and innovation literature toward conceptual clarity and methodological precision across levels. This is important because the cost-related mechanisms of certain antecedents are still not well understood

Team composition and conflict : the role of individual differences

The effects of team composition and conflict on team outcomes have been largely contradictory. In this dissertation, I strive to unravel these relationships through better incorporating two key factors when understanding relationships between team composition, conflict, and team outcomes - the role of individual differences in perceptions and behaviors and the role of power as a critical determinant of team compositions. Using a mixture of field and laboratory data, I show that understanding individual differences and team-level power structures may shed more light on the relationships between team composition, conflict, and team outcomes.LEI Universiteit LeidenSocial decision makin

Conflict About Conflict: Antecedents, Consequences, And Moderators Of Conflict Asymmetry In Teams

ABSTRACT CONFLICT ABOUT CONFLICT: ANTECEDENTS, CONSEQUENCES, AND MODERATORS OF CONFLICT ASYMMETRY IN TEAMS by AYSE KARACA December 2016 Advisor: Dr. Amanuel G. Tekleab Major: Business Administration Degree: Doctor of Philosophy The main objectives of this dissertation were to examine the antecedents and consequences of conflict asymmetry from a multilevel perspective and to explore the impact of a contextual factor, team emotional intelligence, on the conflict asymmetry-outcome relationship. In addition, this study also sought to discover if the asymmetry measure used has an impact on the relationships tested and if the effects of conflict asymmetry can be generalizable to other team processes. Hypotheses were tested using 81 self-managed student teams (342 individuals) from a large university in the U.S. The results showed that race diversity positively predicted relationship conflict asymmetry at the team level. However, none of the team characteristics had a significant impact on team task conflict asymmetry. At the individual level, group attachment orientation was found to be positively related to both task and relationship conflict asymmetry. Yet, the findings did not reveal support for the hypothesized effect of negative affectivity on individual conflict asymmetry. In terms of the outcomes of conflict asymmetries, the results demonstrated no significant effect of team relationship conflict asymmetry on any of the team outcomes. On the other hand, team task conflict asymmetry had positive effects on both team satisfaction and commitment, but not on other team outcomes. At the individual level, individual task conflict asymmetry did not significantly influence any of the individual outcomes. The impacts of relationship conflict asymmetry on individual outcomes were not significant either, with the exception of performance and deviance. Regarding the moderating effect of team emotional intelligence, none of the interaction effects were found to be significant at the team or individual level. Finally, the results showed that the asymmetry measure used in the study (subjective vs. objective conflict asymmetry) did not change the results dramatically, with some slight differences. Likewise, the effects of trust asymmetry on team outcomes were slightly different than those of conflict asymmetry