When Can Negativity Mean Success? Gender Composition, Negative Relationships and Team Performance

2020 ◽  
pp. 104649642095944
Author(s):  
Bret Bradley ◽  
Sarah Henry ◽  
Benjamin Blake
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Successful Team ◽  
The One ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Better Than

Teams are often plagued by internal discord, such as negative relationships, which can impede successful team performance. While most teams eventually encounter negative relationships, we have limited knowledge on how teams manage this negativity. In this article, we expand scholarship on teams by exploring an inherent team characteristic, gender composition, to assess its role in how teams cope with negative relationships. On the one hand, social role theory suggests that teams comprised of more women will perform better in the presence of negative relationships. On the other hand, theories and evidence on personality and individual differences suggest that teams comprised of more men will perform better in the presence of negative relationships. We studied 151 student project teams, and found that teams of mostly women performed better than teams of mostly men, when negative relationships existed among team members. We discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice.

Gender Differences in the Psychology of Competition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin J. Hanek
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Social Role Theory ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender

Drawing primarily on the literature in experimental economics and social psychology, this article reviews key findings on gender differences for two aspects of competitiveness and competition: entry preferences and performance. Although women, relative to men, have been shown to shy away from competition and underperform in competitive environments, this article also discusses boundary conditions for these effects, such as the nature of the task or gender composition of the group, and highlights manifestations of these effects in applied domains, including in negotiations, the labor market, educational settings, and sports. Adopting social psychological frameworks of prescriptive norms and stereotypes, particularly social role theory, this article examines ways in which gender-incongruencies may underpin gender gaps in competition and gender-congruencies may alleviate them. Finally, this article considers implications for individuals and institutions as well as future directions in the field to continue finding ways to close gaps.

Investigating the relationships among team emotional intelligence, trust, conflict and team performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 120-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azadeh Rezvani ◽  
Rowena Barrett ◽  
Pouria Khosravi
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Construction ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Conflict ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to enhance understanding of the relationships among team emotional intelligence (EI), trust in team, conflict in team and team performance.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 389 team members from 84 project teams in large-scale construction projects was surveyed.FindingsFindings showed that team EI is positively associated with team performance. In addition, trust and conflict in the team mediate the association between team EI and team performance.Practical implicationsThe ability to perceive one’s own and others’ emotions significantly increases the likelihood of team performance by increasing trust in a team and reducing conflict. Therefore, managers can use these findings to boost team performance and reduce conflict in their teams.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the better understanding of the relationship between team EI and team performance in large-scale construction projects. In addition, this research is an empirical investigation into the mediation variables linking EI to team performance.

Does sexual selection explain why human aggression peaks in early childhood?

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 267-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Behme
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Social Role Theory ◽  
Human Aggression ◽  
Better Than

AbstractArcher provides seemingly compelling evidence for his claim that sexual selection explains sex differences in human aggression better than social role theory. I challenge Archer's interpretation of some of this evidence. I argue that the same evidence could be used to support the claim that what has been selected for is theability to curbaggression and discuss implications for Archer's theory.

scholarly journals Mindful infrastructure as antecedent of innovation resilience behaviour of project teams

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 435-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R.A. Oeij ◽  
Tinka Van Vuuren ◽  
Steven Dhondt ◽  
Jeff Gaspersz ◽  
Ernest M.M. De Vroome
Keyword(s):  
High Reliability ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Project Outcomes ◽  
Management Project ◽  
The One ◽  
Organizational Features

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether insights into high reliability organizations (HROs) are useful for innovation management teams. HRO teams can keep failure to a minimum level due to high alertness and resilience. Project teams working on innovation management could benefit from HRO principles and thus reduce their chances of failure.Design/methodology/approachA survey among in total 260 team members and team leaders of project teams in innovation management was conducted to study the relation between, on the one hand, organizational features of HROs (“mindful infrastructure”) and HRO principles (adjusted as “innovation resilience behaviour”, IRB), and on the other hand, between mindful infrastructure and IRB and project outcomes.FindingsFrom the results it could be concluded that mindful infrastructure associates with IRB, and that IRB has a mediating role in the relation between mindful infrastructure and project outcomes. Innovation management project teams can thus learn from the practice of HRO teams.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, HRO-thinking has not been applied to team behaviour in innovation management. A fruitful transfer of insights from the domain of safety and crisis management seems applicable to the domain of innovation.

The impact of commitment and climate strength on the relationship between trust and performance in cross-functional project teams

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 114-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marte Pettersen Buvik ◽  
Sturle Danielsen Tvedt
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Climate Strength ◽  
Multilevel Studies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to shed more light on the complex relationship between trust and performance in the context of cross-functional project teams. This study presents a moderated mediation model that investigates the impact of team trust on team performance mediated by project commitment and moderated by climate strength (the consensus among team members on the level of trust). Design/methodology/approach To test the proposed model, data were collected from 179 project team members in 31 Norwegian construction project teams. Findings Results indicated that project commitment fully mediates the relationship between propensity and trustworthiness and team performance, while it partially mediates the relationship between cooperation and team performance. For monitoring, there results showed no mediation. The results yielded no support for the moderation effects of climate strength, suggesting that the mean-level approach to studying trust at the team level still is important. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional survey data suffer from being unable to test causality and samples are relatively small. Future research should test the models on other samples and in combination with data other than self-report. Longitudinal and multilevel studies are also warranted. Practical implications The results suggest that trust has an impact on project commitment and both directly and indirectly on team performance. Interventions to develop a high trust climate in project teams can thus contribute to improved project performance. Originality/value This study offers new insight into the complex relationship between trust and performance and improves our understanding of trust in cross-functional project teams.

scholarly journals Virtual R&D Project Teams: From E-Leadership To Performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Bonet Bonet Fernandez ◽  
Nabila Jawadi
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Work Organization ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Positive Leadership

<p>Recent research on virtual teams highlights the importance of high quality relationships to achieve high team performance. For research and development (R&amp;D) virtual project teams, relationships characterized by cooperation and trust are expected to enhance creativity and innovation among team members. The purpose of this paper is to identify variables enabling high quality relationship building in virtual R&amp;D teams and to analyze their influence on team performance. To this end, this study examines the effects of leadership, work organization and communication practices on the quality of the relationship between team members. The theoretical developments are illustrated through a case study of a car development project in a leading French car-making firm, PSA. Our findings show that dynamic and positive leadership plays an important role in enhancing relationships between team members. The results also highlight the importance of synchronous meetings and frequent and regular interaction to build cooperative and trusty relationships leading to high performance.</p>

Is the Most Effective Team Leadership Shared?

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 105-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Elisabeth Hoch ◽  
Craig L. Pearce ◽  
Linda Welzel
Keyword(s):  
Team Performance ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Team Coordination ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Age Diversity ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In the present paper we examine the moderating effects of age diversity and team coordination on the relationship between shared leadership and team performance. Using a field sample of 96 individuals in 26 consulting project teams, team members assessed their team’s shared leadership and coordination. Six to eight weeks later, supervisors rated their teams’ performance. Results indicated that shared leadership predicted team performance and both age diversity and coordination moderated the impact of shared leadership on team performance. Thereby shared leadership was positively related to team performance when age diversity and coordination were low, whereas higher levels of age diversity and coordination appeared to compensate for lower levels of shared leadership effectiveness. In particular strong effects of shared leadership on team performance were evident when both age diversity and coordination were low, whereas shared leadership was not related to team performance when both age diversity and coordination were high.

scholarly journals Managing Team Conscientiousness Diversity: The Role of Leader Emotion-Regulation Knowledge

2021 ◽  
pp. 104649642110450
Author(s):  
Astrid C. Homan ◽  
Gerben A. van Kleef
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Satisfaction ◽  
Time Lagged ◽  
Negative Relationships ◽  
Diversity Effects

Team members may vary in the degree to which they are self-motivating, diligent, and organized, but effects of such conscientiousness diversity are poorly understood. We propose that conscientiousness diversity effects depend on the team leader’s knowledge about managing negative affective responses—that is emotion regulation knowledge. Data of two time-lagged team studies show that for teams with leaders with lower emotion-regulation knowledge, conscientiousness diversity was negatively associated with team satisfaction (Study 1 and 2), team cohesion and information elaboration (Study 2), which in turn influenced team performance (Study 2). These negative relationships reversed in teams with leaders with higher emotion-regulation knowledge.

scholarly journals Team Leadership and Team Cultural Diversity: The Moderating Effects of Leader Cultural Background and Leader Team Tenure

2021 ◽  
pp. 154805182110107
Author(s):  
Katja Raithel ◽  
Daan van Knippenberg ◽  
Daan Stam
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Team Members ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Nationality Diversity

By bringing team members with different cultural backgrounds together, teams in international business can benefit from cultural diversity and reach higher levels of performance. Cultural diversity also brings challenges, however, and diversity research has identified the need to consider moderating influences in the diversity–performance relationship. Team leadership should be particularly important in this respect and drawing on a theoretical analysis that puts an understanding of cultural diversity center stage, we propose that factors that reflect leaders’ experience with cultural diversity positively moderate the relationship between cultural diversity and team performance. We identify leader cultural background (local vs. foreign to the host culture) and leader team tenure as such factors. We predict that the influence of team nationality diversity (a form of cultural diversity) on team performance is more positive with a leader who is foreign to the host country than with a local leader, and with a leader with longer team tenure. In addition, we predict that the one moderating influence substitutes for the other, such that the effect of leader cultural background is stronger for leaders with shorter tenure with the team. Results from a survey of N = 66 teams ( N = 336 individuals) from a multinational company support these hypotheses and inform our discussion of ways forward in the study of leadership and team diversity.

Information systems project teams: factors for high performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 69-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Moura ◽  
Caroline Dominguez ◽  
João Varajão
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Performance Project

Purpose The purpose of this research is twofold: identify and gain a better insight on factors that can influence high performance of Information Systems (IS) project teams from the perspective of IS professionals (i.e. team members and leaders), and thus contribute to the general discussion on high-performance project teams; and offer both IS project team members and their project managers some feedback on how to build and manage teams more constructively and to enhance team performance in today’s demanding business environment. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory case study of a small-size holding company and a qualitative analysis of the data to address the research questions. Findings Results show a set of perceived factors that can influence high team performance in IS projects. Participants’ perceptions barely coincide. For instance, mutual trust was the only factor suggested as facilitating high team performance by 5 participants (out of 13). Differences may be because of participants’ characteristics (e.g. time on the job). All perceived factors are classified in the literature as nontechnical (i.e. having to do with behavioral and/or socio-organizational matters of project management). Originality/value This paper is among the very few empirical studies consolidating knowledge on high-performance IS project teams (e.g. it is still unclear if there are IS project team-specific factors that influence high performance). For the highly technical IS industry, this study came across human-centric factors transversal to different project teams.

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