Testing a Second-Order Factor Structure of Team Cognition in Distributed Teams

The present research develops and tests a hierarchical model of the underlying behavioral processes of team cognition. Team cognition is represented as a second-order construct comprised of three first-order dimensions (team learning, team reflexivity, and team mental model). The proposed second-order construct was embedded in a nomological network as a mediator between collaboration mode (collocated vs. non-collocated technology-mediated) and task outcomes (team productivity and team interaction quality). The partial least squares approach was used to test the measurement and structural model. As hypothesized, team cognition significantly influenced team productivity and team interaction quality outcomes. Further, collaboration mode significantly improved team cognition through its specific effects on the team learning, team reflexivity, and team mental model first-order dimensions of team cognition. The results substantiate 1) the conception of team cognition as a multidimensional construct, 2) the use of s ond-order factors to address potential multicollinearity problems, and 3) use of higher-order constructs to present a more parsimonious model

The Role of Group Learning in Implementation of a Personnel Management System in a Hospital

A new HR system was introduced in a Dutch hospital. The system implied collaborative work among its users. The project planning seemed to be reasonably straightforward: the system's introduction was intended to take place gradually, including pilots in different departments and appropriate feedback. After some time, the system was successfully adopted by one group of users, but failed with another. We conceptualize the implementation process of groupware as group learning to frame the adoption of the system, and analyze the qualitative data collected during the longitudinal case study. We found that in the user group with strong group learning, adoption of the system occurred effectively and on time. In another user group with rather weak group learning, the use of the system was blocked after a short time. The results provided a first confirmation of our assumption about the importance of group learning processes in the implementation of groupware

Team Learning: A Theoretical Integration and Review

With the increasing emphasis on work teams as the primary architecture of organizational structure, scholars have begun to focus attention on team learning, the processes that support it, and the important outcomes that depend on it. Although the literature addressing learning in teams is broad, it is also messy and fraught with conceptual confusion. This chapter presents a theoretical integration and review. The goal is to organize theory and research on team learning, identify actionable frameworks and findings, and emphasize promising targets for future research. We emphasize three theoretical foci in our examination of team learning, treating it as multilevel (individual and team, not individual or team), dynamic (iterative and progressive; a process not an outcome), and emergent (outcomes of team learning can manifest in different ways over time). The integrative theoretical heuristic distinguishes team learning process theories, supporting emergent states, team knowledge representations, and respective influences on team performance and effectiveness. Promising directions for theory development and research are discussed

Fashion Education in Sustainability: Change Through Experiential Crossings

Sustainability is distinguished by its multidimensional, messy, big and small transformational change processes that impact the world on all scales and timelines that are both short and long. This is, whilst challenging, full of diverse possibilities. To be path makers and navigators through this complexity requires us to teach and learn skills, knowledge and understanding of our relationships with each other and with our natural world. It requires us to hone our skills of imagination as well as our practical skills of creation and communication. Education for sustainability offers us a means to unlock the current fashion educational paradigm, which has become, in many cases, a service led model of educational provision for current business functions. It offers the means to change towards education that is based on a nurturing of culture, creativity and critical thinking, so that we are capable of responding to global and local contexts to contribute towards thriving societies, cultures and economies. The places, players, and their roles in this process differ substantially from traditional fashion education hierarchical models. This paper explores this changing paradigm through a case study at London College of Fashion, guided by Dilys Williams, Director Centre for Sustainable Fashion. The project worked with thirty undergraduate students across disciplines in fashion design and communication, their tutors, and a world leading sportswear brand’s design, communication and education teams. The author has developed an experiential and reflexive learning process through a number of iterations to explore design for sustainability (DfS) through teaching and learning methods that visualize our interdependence, support a mutual learning environment, and begin to explore cause and effect of our actions and interactions. This project engages this approach to explore ways in which the business could de-couple success from the throughput of material goods through this project based in the UK and the US

Sustaining entrepreneurial business: a complexity perspective on processes that produce emergent practice

This article examines the management practices in an entrepreneurial small firm which sustain the business. Using a longitudinal qualitative case study, four general processes are identified (experimentation, reflexivity, organising and sensing), that together provide a mechanism to sustain the enterprise. The analysis draws on concepts from entrepreneurship and complexity science. We suggest that an entrepreneur’s awareness of the role of these parallel processes will facilitate their approaches to sustaining and developing enterprises. We also suggest that these processes operate in parallel at multiple levels, including the self, the business and inter-firm networks. This finding contributes to a general theory of entrepreneurship. A number of areas for further research are discussed arising from this result

The impacts of team virtuality: An investigation of team virtuality, team reflexivity, and copresence on team effectiveness

Teams have become the standard way of working in organizations. Therefore, it is of extreme importance to understand what differentiates high performing teams from other teams. Team Virtuality is also increasingly more common. Globalization, distributed skills and competencies, and the advances on communication technology have led organizations to increasingly rely on virtual teams. In this sense, the present study investigates the impact of Team Virtuality on Team Reflexivity, a team process that highly contributes to Team Effectiveness. Despite the geographic and/or temporal distance, and the loss of some cues when communicating through virtual tools, one can still feel present in an environment and that others are present with them and collaborating. This study investigates if this sense of copresence is able to moderate the relationship between Team Virtuality and Team Reflexivity. A sample of 93 Start-up employees has been analyzed. Results showed that the extent of use of virtual tools, informational value and synchronicity have actually a positive effect on Team Reflexivity; that Team Reflexivity has, in fact, a positive influence on Team Performance and Team Viability; but, however, that Copresence has no moderation power on the relationship of Team Virtuality with Team Reflexivity. This research extends the literature, as the impact of Team Virtuality in team processes, Team Reflexivity included, hasn’t received significant dedication yet. Moreover, Copresence’s impacts have not been studied at all, and it needs further research. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings and potential questions for future research are discussed.As equipas tornaram-se a forma de trabalho mais comum nas organizações. Por isso, é de extrema importância compreender o que diferencia as equipas de alto desempenho das outras equipas. A virtualidade na equipa é, também, cada vez mais comum. A globalização, as competências e skills distribuídas, e os avanços na tecnologia de comunicação levaram as organizações a recorrer, cada vez mais, a equipas virtuais. Neste sentido, o presente estudo investiga o impacto da Virtualidade das equipas na Reflexividade das mesmas, um processo de equipa que contribui altamente para a Eficácia das equipas. Apesar da distância geográfica e/ou temporal e da perda de algumas pistas quando a comunicação é feita através de ferramentas virtuais, é possível, ainda, sentir que se está presente num determinado interface e que os outros estão, também, presentes connosco e a colaborar. Este estudo investiga se este sentimento de copresença é capaz de moderar a relação entre a Virtualidade da equipa e a Reflexividade da equipa. Foi analisada uma amostra de 93 empregados de Start-ups.Os resultados mostraram que a quantidade de ferramentas virtuais utilizadas, o valor informacional e a sincronia das mesmas têm, na realidade, um efeito positivo na Reflexividade da equipa; que a Reflexividade da equipa tem, de facto, um impacto positivo no Desempenho e na Viabilidade da Equipa; mas, no entanto, que a Copresença não tem poder de moderação na relação entre a Virtualidade da equipa com a Reflexividade da equipa. Implicações práticas e teóricas dos resultados e potenciais questões para investigação futura são discutidas

How technological knowledge management capability compliments knowledge‐intensive human resource management practices to enhance team outcomes: A moderated mediation analysis

Although research establishes a link between knowledge-intensive human resource (HR) practices (KIHRP) and knowledge-intensive team (KIT) performance, knowledge is limited about the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions that determine this relationship. This study integrates the ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) framework and theory of team adaptation intoan information processing perspective to present a cohesive model that explains the mediating role of team knowledge sharing and reflexivity processes, and moderation of organization's technological knowledge management (KM) capability to explain the effect of KIHRP on KIT performance. Data were collected in three waves and from three sources consisting of 380 knowledge workers from 123 teams in 74 organizations in Pakistan. The findings indicate that KIHRP relates positively to KIT performance directly as well as via team knowledge sharing and reflexivity processes where the organization's technological KM capability further strengthens this relationshi

Psychological Safety in Agile Software Development Teams: Work Design Antecedents and Performance Consequences

Psychological safety has been postulated as a key factor for the success of agile software development teams, yet there is a lack of empirical studies investigating the role of psychological safety in this context. This study examines how work design characteristics of software development teams (autonomy, task interdependence and role clarity) influence psychological safety and further how psychological safety impacts team performance, either directly or indirectly through team reflexivity. We test our model using survey data from 236 team members in 43 software development teams in Norway. Our results show that autonomy boosts psychological safety in software teams and that psychological safety again has positive effect on team reflexivity and a direct effect on team performance