Distributed Cognition in Top Management Teams and Organizational Ambidexterity

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 919-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciaran Heavey ◽  
Zeki Simsek
Keyword(s):  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Structure ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Transactive Memory ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Transactive Memory Systems ◽  
The Impact

How can a firm develop, distribute, and use knowledge more effectively and efficiently in ways that increase its ability to pursue an ambidextrous orientation? Synthesizing insights from social cognition and upper-echelons perspectives, we offer a new theoretical vantage point that brings the role of top management teams’ cognitive structure to the fore and, in particular, the enabling influence of transactive memory systems. We argue that transactive memory provides a top management team with a system for generating, distributing, and integrating knowledge based on members’ specific areas of expertise in ways that increase its ability to both differentiate and integrate strategic agendas for ambidexterity. From a multisource study of top management teams in a sample of technology-based small-to-medium-sized firms, we find that while top management teams with well-developed transactive memory systems are able to pursue an ambidextrous orientation, the impact of transactive memory is also shaped by diverse organizational experience and functional expertise within these teams. We discuss the scope and significance of these findings for theory, future research, and managerial practice.

scholarly journals The Impact of Perceived Subgroup Formation on Transactive Memory Systems and Performance in Distributed Teams

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yide Shen ◽  
Michael J. Gallivan ◽  
Xinlin Tang
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Transactive Memory ◽  
Distributed Teams ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Group Members ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

With distributed teams becoming increasingly common in organizations, improving their performance is a critical challenge for both practitioners and researchers. This research examines how group members' perception of subgroup formation affects team performance in fully distributed teams. The authors propose that individual members' perception about the presence of subgroups within the team has a negative effect on team performance, which manifests itself through decreases in a team's transactive memory system (TMS). Using data from 154 members of 41 fully distributed teams (where no group members were colocated), the authors found that members' perceptions of the existence of subgroups impair the team's TMS and its overall performance. They found these effects to be statistically significant. In addition, decreases in a group's TMS partially mediate the effect of perceived subgroup formation on team performance. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for managerial action, as well as for researchers, and they propose directions for future research.

The impact of the top management teams’ knowledge and experience on strategic decisions and performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng-Yu Li
Keyword(s):  
Positive Association ◽  
International Experience ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis paper explores whether top management teams’ (TMTs) knowledge and experience are significant predictors of a firm’s strategic decisions and organization outcomes. The existing research throws little light on how firms with limited resources embedded in TMTs, particularly in emerging markets, innovate and achieve success in foreign countries. We focus on the impact of TMTs’ functional background heterogeneity and international experience on innovation and internationalization, as well as examine the relationship between innovation, internationalization and performance. The proposed relationships are empirically investigated in a sample of Taiwanese-listed companies operating in the electronics industry. The results demonstrate a positive association between a TMT’s functional background heterogeneity and a firm’s innovation. Moreover, a TMT’s international experience relates positively to a firm’s innovation and internationalization, therefore firms with a higher level of innovation achieve a higher level of internationalization.

Personality predictors of team taskwork understanding and transactive memory systems in service management teams

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanko Guchait ◽  
Katherine Hamilton ◽  
Nan Hua
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Transactive Memory ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Team Cognition ◽  
Transactive Memory Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Over Time

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine how personality composition in teams related to team taskwork understanding (TTU) and transactive memory systems (TMS) over time. Additionally, the study examined the relationship between TTU and TMS, and three team criteria variables: performance, satisfaction, and cohesion. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal study was conducted with 27 service management teams involving 178 undergraduate students in a restaurant setting. The restaurant was open to the public so the team outcomes had real world consequences. Each team served between 90-140 customers. Findings – Results showed that team mean-level conscientiousness was significantly positively related to TTU and TMS in the initial stage of team formation. On the other hand, team mean-level agreeableness had a significant positive relationship with TTU and TMS later on in the team's lifecycle. Furthermore, significant positive relationships were found between TMS and team performance, TMS and team satisfaction, and TTU and team cohesion. Originality/value – The current work looked at how various team cognitions develop in teams over time as a result of personality composition in teams which has not been tested before. Unlike prior research, this study was conducted in a field setting instead of an experimental study in the laboratory. Finally, no research exists studying these relationships in a hospitality context. Therefore, the current work extends the generalizability of the team composition and team cognition theories.

Top Management Gender Diversity and Internationalisation in Different Institutional Contexts: Evidence from Germany and Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 706-737
Author(s):  
Anja Küpper ◽  
Tobias Dauth
Keyword(s):  
Work Experience ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Practical Interest ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Management Teams ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Board Diversity ◽  
Country Level

The diversity of top management teams is a topic of increasing scholarly and practical interest. It is argued that globalisation requires international operating firms to staff their management teams with international and diverse members. We investigate the influence of institutional environments on gender and internationality diversity in boards to shed light on the question “Why do top management teams look the way they do?” Our sample includes top management team members of the largest stock listed firms in Germany and Poland. The sample consists of 60 firms and 852 individuals from 2019. Our findings suggest that the presence of non-natives and women on corporate boards and the international orientation of board members, in terms of education, work experience and directorships, are attributable to national institutional systems. While Germany´s top managers are becoming increasingly internationally diverse and have increasing gender diversification, the figures for Poland are also increasing, but on a much smaller scale. We argue that country-level institutions play an important role in shaping the diversity of corporate boards. Future research should place more emphasis on the external national environment when investigating board diversity.

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