scholarly journals Measuring team learning behaviours through observing verbal team interaction

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 476-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Raes ◽  
Anne Boon ◽  
Eva Kyndt ◽  
Filip Dochy

Purpose – This study aims to explore, as an answer to the observed lack of knowledge about actual team learning behaviours, the characteristics of the actual observed basic team learning behaviours and facilitating team learning behaviours more in-depth of three project teams. Over time, team learning in an organisational context has been investigated more and more. In these studies, there is a dominant focus on team members’ perception of team learning behaviours. Design/methodology/approach – A coding schema is created to observe actual team learning behaviours in interaction between team members in two steps: verbal contributions by individual team members are coded to identify the type of sharing behaviour and, when applicable, these individual verbal behaviours are build up to basic and facilitating team learning behaviours. Based on these observations, an analysis of team learning behaviours is conducted to identify the specific characteristics of these behaviours. Findings – An important conclusion of this study is the lack of clarity about the line of demarcation between individual contributions and learning behaviours and team learning behaviours. Additionally, it is clear that the conceptualisations of team learning behaviour in previous research neglect to a large extend the nuances and depth of team learning behaviours. Originality/value – Due to the innovative approach to study team learning behaviours, this study is of great value to the research field of teamwork for two reasons: the creation of a coding schema to analyse team learning behaviours and the findings that resulted from this approach.

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Emil Berg ◽  
Jan Terje Karlsen

Purpose – This study provides insight into how project managers can use leadership tools to encourage and develop positive emotions among the project team members toward greater overall project success. The purpose of this paper is to provide the engineering industry with a closer look at how positive emotions can create good team member relations, reduce stress, develop clearer roles, creativity and joy at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were obtained using in-depth interviews of three experienced project managers. Findings – The empirical data give insight as to how project managers can use their signature strengths. Additionally, the data also show how they can evolve and draw on positive meaning, positive emotions and positive relations. Various examples of positive meaning, positive emotions, positive relations and signature strengths have been identified and discussed. Research limitations/implications – Future research should apply a more comprehensive research design, for example a survey using a larger sample, so that these findings may be generalized. Practical implications – The paper contributes to portray and analyze positive psychology in a project management setting. Additionally, the paper assists understanding the connections among positive meaning, positive emotions, positive relations and signature strengths by presenting and discussing a model. Originality/value – This research extends current understanding of how project managers use their signature strengths to encourage and develop positive emotions in project teams.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Elizabeth Puente-Palacios ◽  
Raquel Trinchão de Jesus Barouh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is two-fold: first, to demonstrate that learning occurs as a collective process in addition to traditional individual learning and second, to identify its antecedents and consequences at the team level. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered using questionnaires answered by 356 participants organized in 90 teams. Quantitative analytic strategies were applied to verify if individual answers of team members were similar enough to compound team scores and to measure the predictive power of the proposed model. Findings Results showed that team learning is a collective phenomenon: intra-team differences were small and differences between teams were significant. Additional results demonstrated that team learning is predicted by team potency (34%) and, at the group level, explains 5% of the team’s satisfaction. Practical implications The findings of the present research suggest that organizational managers can improve the results of teams by supporting the development of social processes such as potency and learning. Originality/value Learning in organizations has received close attention in recent years. However, publications are focusing mostly on the individual learning that occurs in teams and organizations. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate what characterizes team learning as a collective process and which relations it maintains with other team processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Megan Divett

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate perceptions of leaders and team members on productivity, satisfaction and leader-led team dynamics within an activity-based, flexible environment compared to an open plan workplace. Design/methodology/approach This study uses cross-sectional (N = 1,275) and longitudinal survey data (N = 138) collected from three offices in Australia. Baseline responses were collected 3–12 months prior to the transition into a new environment and comparison responses were collected after at least three months of working in the new environment. Paired sample t-tests and linear regression were used. Findings Team members were more satisfied and felt more productive within the activity-based working (ABW) environment compared to the open plan workplace. Leaders were more satisfied and felt team productivity improved, yet individual productivity for leaders remained the same. Occupants felt the key drivers of productivity were team Interaction and decision-making. Research limitations/implications This study focused on one activity-based building based in Australia that was consciously designed for individual focus, team working and cross-team collaboration. This style of workplace may not be representative of all activity-based environments. Originality/value Most research into ABW has relied on cross-sectional data. This study also adopts a within group, longitudinal approach to directly compare the perceptions of the same individuals over time. Activity-based environments are changing the way we think of leaders and the way they encourage productivity. This study showed that despite relinquishing an office, leaders were more satisfied and equally productive within an activity-based environment. The study also showed that teams realise greater productivity by focussing on team interaction and effective decision-making.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1168-1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingze Li ◽  
Pengcheng Zhang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to answer the theoretical and practical calls for an examination of the multi-level effects of empowering leadership on creativity. In addition, it attempts to link empowering leadership to creativity from the perspective of information processing, which is different from traditional mechanisms of psychology. Design/methodology/approach Based on the perspective of information processing, the authors tested how and why different levels of empowering leadership may relate to team and individual creativity. Multi-source data were collected from 62 team leaders and 295 team members. Statistical methods, such as the hierarchical linear model, hierarchical regression analysis, and bootstrapping tests, were used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that team and individual learning mediate the effects of empowering leadership on creativity at the team and individual levels. Interestingly, the authors also found that team learning negatively moderates the indirect and positive effect of individual empowering leadership on individual creativity. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is that the authors used cross-section data instead of longitudinal data to analyze the causal relationship. As such, the results may not truly reveal the causality. Practical implications The findings indicate that empowering leadership is important for stimulating both individual and team learning; thus, it benefits different levels of creativity. In addition, the results also suggest that there are interplay between different level mechanisms, and empowering team leader should trade-off individual and team learning effects in order to promote both team and individual creativity effectively. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by providing a multi-level and cross-level analysis of empowering leadership and creativity. It clarifies how empowering leadership stimulates individual and team creativity at different levels simultaneously.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Raes ◽  
Anne Boon ◽  
Eva Kyndt ◽  
Filip Dochy

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 334-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R.A. Oeij ◽  
Steven Dhondt ◽  
Jeff Gaspersz

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the principles of high reliability organisations (HROs), present in safety and crisis teams, as applied to innovation teams. Safety and crisis teams cannot fail, as failure leads to disaster and casualties. Innovation teams cannot fail either, as this harms the organisations’ competitiveness and effectiveness. Do HRO principles, rooted in mindful infrastructure, enable innovation resilience behaviour (IRB)? Design/methodology/approach A study of 18 innovation projects performed by project teams was carried out. A survey by team members/leaders of these teams was completed; team members/leaders of other projects were added to achieve a larger sample. Mindful infrastructure consists of team psychological safety, team learning, complexity leadership and team voice. The analyses assessed the teams’ mindful infrastructures as a causal condition enabling IRB. Findings Applying qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the findings indicate that mindful infrastructure enables team IRB, which is a set of team behaviours indicating their resilience when encountering critical incidents. Teams apply different “paths” to IRB. Research limitations/implications The exploratory study’s generalizability is limited. The findings nonetheless indicate the usefulness of non-linear techniques for understanding different roads to successful innovation processes. Practical implications HRO principles are applicable by non-HROs. These require investments in organisational learning. Originality/value HRO studies fail to account for the antecedents of HRO principles. This study groups these antecedents of team behaviour into a mindful infrastructure. QCA has not been applied within the domain of HROs before and only scarcely within the domain of innovation teams.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukhwant Kaur Sagar ◽  
Olugbenga Timo Oladinrin ◽  
Mohammed Arif ◽  
Muhammad Qasim Rana

Purpose Organisational dependence on virtual project teams (VPTs) is growing dramatically due to the substantial benefits they offer, such as efficiently achieving objectives and improving organisational performance. One of the major issues that influence the effectiveness of VPTs is trust building. This study aims to determine the key factors of trust in VPTs and design a model by identifying the interrelationships among the trust factors. Design/methodology/approach Focus group discussion was used to gather data on factors affecting trust in VPTs and their interrelationships. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) was used to establish the relationship among the factors. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification analysis was conducted to identify the driving power and the dependence power towards effective VPTs in the construction sector. Findings The finding revealed that “characteristics of team members” (such as ability, integrity, benevolence, competence, reliability and professionalism) is the most significant factor for building trust in virtual team members. Some factors were further identified as having high driving power, while others were defined as having high dependence variables. Practical implications The findings will assist construction managers and practitioners dealing with VPTs identify the factors influencing trust among team members. Taking cognisance of the factors that influence trust will enable them to design more effective virtual team arrangements. Originality/value As the first research of its kind using ISM technique, the study offers insights into interrelationships between trust factors in the construction VPTs. It provides guides for construction managers on the effective management of trustworthy VPTs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Moura ◽  
Caroline Dominguez ◽  
João Varajão

PurposeThe main aim of this study is to contribute to the discussion on the factors that can influence the high performance of information systems (IS) project team members, from the individual perspective. This study also allows both IS project team members and their managers to have a thorough picture of high-performing project teams, helping them improve team design, management and performance in today's demanding business environment.Design/methodology/approachTo address the research questions, the authors carried out an exploratory case study of a small-sized holding company and a qualitative analysis of the data.FindingsResults show a set of perceived factors that can influence (facilitate/hinder) the high performance of IS project team members. “Proper reward systems” was the most mentioned facilitating factor. “Negative affectivity” and “Lack of competence” were the two most referred as hindering factors. Most of the perceived factors are classified in the literature as non-technical.Originality/valueBesides being among the very few empirical studies consolidating knowledge on the high performance of IS project team members, this paper extends the authors' previous research (done at the team level) to the individual team member level (as opposed to the team or organizational levels). In spite of IS being a highly technical industry, this study came across mostly human-centered factors transversal to different professionals (IS and non-IS) involved in project teams.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Min Kim ◽  
Moon Jung Kim ◽  
Sung Jun Jo

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the relationships between individual team member's perception of team psychological safety (TPS), individual team member's perception of transactive memory system (TMS), individual team member's perception of team learning behavior (TLB) and individual team member's perception of team performance (TP).Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study used a paper-based questionnaire that was distributed to 500 employees in travel-related industries and responses were received from 467 employees. Finally, 394 surveys were used after excluding insincere responses. Using SPSS & AMOS version 25.0, factor analysis, correlation, path analysis and mediation analysis were performed.FindingsThe findings reveal that there is a significant association between TPS, TMS, TLB and TP, except for the specialization subdimension of TMS and reflective communication and knowledge codification subdimensions of TLB. There was no mediation role of TLB; however, credibility and task coordination subdimensions of TMS showed partial mediating effects between TPS and TP.Originality/valueThis study offers suggestions for management, emphasizing the importance of TPS. Recent and rapid organizational changes have dramatically increased employees' job insecurity, which can affect their psychological safety. Therefore, organizations should actively support employees to feel psychologically stable to improve performance by utilizing TMS and TLB among individual team members.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhipeng Zhang ◽  
Li Zhu ◽  
Gong Chen ◽  
Lu Shang ◽  
Qiuyun Zhao ◽  
...  

Purpose Existing studies mostly rely on the static characteristics of team members, and there is still a lack of empirical investigation on how entrepreneurial team members make decisions through dynamic team process and how team members’ cognition influences team decision-making. The purpose of this study is to validate how entrepreneurial team heterogeneity affects team decision-making performance from the perspective of dynamic team process. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the theory of input-process-output model, this study proposed and examined the mediating role of team interaction as well as the moderating role of proactive socialization tactics in the relationship between entrepreneurial team heterogeneity and decision-making performance. Based on a sample of 162 entrepreneurial teams that include pairing superiors and subordinates, hierarchical regressions and moderated mediation tests were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The research results show that the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial teams is positively correlated with both team interaction and decision-making performance. Team interaction plays a mediating role between entrepreneurial team heterogeneity and decision-making performance; information seeking of proactive socialization tactics moderates the impact of entrepreneurial team heterogeneity on team interaction. Originality/value Contributing to the literature on entrepreneurial team decision-making performance, this study identifies that proactive socialization tactics with a high level of information seeking can help entrepreneurial team members respond to environmental and organizational changes more effectively during team development and increase the effectiveness of team interaction. This finding helps us better understand the mechanism and context under which entrepreneurial heterogeneity may enhance the team’s decision-making performance.


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