The temporal priority of team learning behaviors vs. shared mental models in service management teams

Social network analysis is a preferred approach to examine the impact of social processes and mechanisms on team performance, but it can be challenging to measure these dynamics in applied settings. Our aim was to test whether the understanding of the task at hand was more accurate and more shared for teams with more evenly distributed interaction patterns. We pre-registered a novel approach for measuring social networks from sparse reporting of ranked interactions. Our sample was eleven emergency management teams that performed a scenario training exercise, where we asked factual questions about the ongoing task during performance, and retrospective questions about who were the most important communication and collaboration partners. We quantified shared mental models as the extent to which a team member showed the same understanding as the rest of their team, and quantified situation awareness as the extent to which team members showed the same knowledge as their team leader. We calculated which team members where most central to the network, and which networks had more evenly distributed networks. Our findings support the pre-registered hypotheses that more interconnected teams are associated with more accurate and more shared mental models, while the individual’s position in the network was not associated with MM.

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Team learning in interdisciplinary research teams: antecedents and consequences

Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.1108/jkm-07-2019-0372 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Xueyan Zhang ◽

Xiaohong Wang

Keyword(s):

Mental Models ◽

Team Performance ◽

Interdisciplinary Research ◽

Team Learning ◽

Shared Mental Models ◽

Research Teams ◽

Content Type ◽

Task Uncertainty ◽

Antecedents And Consequences

Purpose Team learning is critical to interdisciplinary research teams (IDR teams) to use heterogeneous knowledge effectively. Nevertheless, team learning is rarely addressed in the IDR team literature. Also, few studies investigate the antecedents and consequences of team learning in IDR teams, leading to a lack of guidance for management practices. This study aims to investigate how team learning can be developed and how team learning influences team outcomes in IDR teams. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey on 304 members of 37 IDR teams in a research university in China is conducted. Data are analyzed using a partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings The results support most hypotheses in general. For the antecedent variables, task interdependence, trust and constructive conflict positively affect team learning. For the outcome variables, team learning improves shared mental models, coordination quality and team performance significantly. Additionally, task uncertainty positively moderates the team learning-coordination quality relation and team learning-team performance relation. However, this paper does not find support for the moderating role of task uncertainty on the team learning-shared mental models relation. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study investigating the antecedents and consequences of team learning in IDR teams. A multidimensional measurement of team learning for the IDR team context is developed. This study investigates how team behavioral factors influence team learning and the effect of team learning on shared mental models, coordination quality and team performance. This study also explores the contingency role of task uncertainty in the effects of team learning.

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