Do Multiple I-Deals in a Team Help or Hinder Team Outcomes? A Resource Scarcity Perspective

Abstract

Idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are individualized employment arrangements negotiated and agreed upon by individual employees and their organization. This study addresses an emerging conundrum in i-deals research—whether the prevalence of i-deals in teams helps or hinders team outcomes. Because teams in which i-deals are prevalent receive more resources and status, they may be more cohesive and engage in more supportive behaviors. On the other hand, because i-deals differentiate among team members, teams in which i-deals are prevalent may be less cohesive and less inclined to engage in OCB. To solve this puzzle, we draw from a resource scarcity perspective to posit that understanding intra-team i-deal dynamics requires taking into account both organizational-level (i.e., organizational i-deal scarcity) and team-level (i.e., team power structure) factors. Using data from 40 organizations, 166 teams, and 1016 employees, we disentangle the complex interplay among the prevalence of i-deals in a team, organizational i-deal scarcity, and intra-team power structure in predicting both team cohesion and intra-team OCB.

Leveraging digital transformation and agile slack to integrate team‐level I‐deals with strategic agility for enhancing international performance

“…Because I‐deals impart nonstandard rewards and privileges to recipients, I‐deals represent a valuable resource in organizations (Rousseau et al, 2016; Simosi et al, 2021), the availability or scarcity of which might influence how teams respond to I‐deals and firm performance. In addition, recent breakthroughs in the literature on teams (Vossaert et al, 2023) have revealed scenarios in which team‐related resources may improve organizational outcomes. Thus, the RBV gives a fine vantage point for examining the interaction between organizational and team‐level characteristics to forecast whether team I‐deals may contribute internationally to export SMEs.…”