The Knowledge Management Processes at Different Stages of Group Development

Abstract

-Based on a developmental approach, this study intended to analyze the extent to which the diff erent stages of group development diff er regarding the use of knowledge management processes. The sample comprised 211 teams belonging to a Portuguese military organization. In order to test the hypotheses a multivariate analysis of variance was conducted. The results showed that more mature and cooperative groups (Restructuring/Realization phase) apply to a greater degree the processes of knowledge management, while groups in which there is high intragroup competition and in which members try to "gain power" among themselves (Reframing phase), apply these processes to a lesser degree. The literature review which we carried out regarding working groups/teams and knowledge management allows us to affi rm that there are advantages in studying them in an articulated way (e.g., Ancona & Caldwell, 1992;Argote, Ingram, Levine, & Moreland, 2000;Argote, McEvily, & Reagans, 2003;Brown & Utterback, 1985;Henriksen, 2001;Ingram & Simons, 2002;Jehn & Shah, 1996;Lee, Gillespie, Mann, & Wearing, 2010;Liang, Moreland, & Argote, 1995;Love & Roper, 2009;Nelson & Cooprider, 1996;Zárraga & Bonache, 2003;Zhuge & Shi, 1997). Indeed, by one side, teamwork constitutes a way of managing and organizing the work which can contribute to increase productivity, quality of work life and ensure high levels of quality of products/ services (Rousseau, Aubé, & Savoie, 2006). Knowledge management, on the other hand, is nowadays a unique and intangible resource which can be used by groups and organizations in order to acquire advantages regarding competitiveness (Barney, 1991;Miller & Shamsie, 1996).Although there is no clear consensus on the concept of team development (Kozlowski, 2015), conceptual and empirical literature about the working groups/teams which adopts a developmental approach (e.g., Buzalo & Wheelan, 1999;Garfi eld & Dennis, 2013;Tuckman & Jensen, 1977) tend to show that groups change over time and that the group processes/emerging states (e.g., intragroup confl icts, group emotions) operate diff erently at diff erent levels of group existence (or developmental stages).Studies carried out in the fi eld of knowledge management in the working groups/teams, (e.g., Ancona & Caldwell, 1992;Brown & Utterback, 1985;Cummings, 2004;Huang, 2009;Lee et al., 2010;Prange, 1999;Zhuge & Shi, 1997), as well as the models that we can fi nd in the literature (e.g., Model of Cardoso and Peralta, 2011; Model of Marin-Garcia and Zarate-Martinez, 2008; Model of Zárraga-Oberty and Garcia Falcón, 2003), do not take into account the group temporality, namely the process of group development. Therefore, the role group development plays in the way the group manages knowledge is not clear in the literature.With the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the group functioning and also trying to overcome the referred gap in the literature, this study aims to analyze the diff erences among the diff erent stages of group development regarding

Trabalho em equipa em Portugal: Uma década de progresso

“…Cognições. Em Portugal, a investigação sobre o trabalho em equipa tem-se focado também ao nível dos fatores cognitivos que levam as equipas a serem mais eficazes, uma vez que elas desempenham cada vez mais tarefas que são complexas a nível cognitivo e intelectual, as quais são impossíveis de realizar individualmente (Pinto & Mónico, 2017;Pinto et al, 2017). A investigação ao nível da cognição de equipas foca-se nas estruturas e conteúdos cognitivos que são partilhados pelos membros das equipas, bem como nos processos cognitivos usados pelos membros das equipas para realizar as tarefas (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006).…”