Team Effectiveness 1997-2007: A Review of Recent Advancements and a Glimpse Into the Future

Abstract

The authors review team research that has been conducted over the past 10 years. They discuss the nature of work teams in context and note the substantive differences underlying different types of teams. They then review representative studies that have appeared in the past decade in the context of an enhanced input-process-outcome framework that has evolved into an inputs-mediators-outcome time-sensitive approach. They note what has been learned along the way and identify fruitful directions for future research. They close with a reconsideration of the typical team research investigation and call for scholars to embrace the complexity that surrounds modern team-based organizational designs as we move forward.

A Social Machine for Transdisciplinary Research

“…Practitioners within different disciplines use specialized terms or jargon, use different terms to talk about the same object, and use the same terms but attach different mean-ings. Teams that fail to develop a shared language are limited in their capacity to establish a shared mental model (i.e., an organized representation of knowledge or negotiated belief structure that is shared by team members; Mathieu et al, 2008;Walsh & Fahey, 1986) as a basis for participating in the integration of ideas from different disciplines.…”

Team Performance: Evidence for Validity of a Measure

“…The original model was modified on the basis of criticisms received, and as a result, the process element was divided into two parts, with the first keeping its original name (processes) and the second receiving the designation of emergent states (Mathieu, Maynard, Rapp, & Gilson, 2008). Despite the time elapsed since its appearance, as well as the modifications applied, more recent publications demonstrate the utility of this model (Bell, 2007;Callea et al 2014;Puente-Palacios & González-Romá, 2013).…”

“…The processes are viewed as the transformations that occur over the lifespan of the team, and may be related both to the task and to the relationships maintained between the members. Finally, the outputs are the consequences of the experience of working together, including both those desired and expected, as well as those unwanted and even avoided, and may be related to the members, to the team as a whole, or to the organization (Mathieu et al, 2008). The object of interest for this manuscript is desired output or expected results.…”

“…In theorizing about the model that organizes the elements involved in the operation of the teams, Mathieu, Maynard, Rapp and Gilson, (2008) mention that much more is known about the first two (inputs and processes) and less about the third (outputs). They attribute this, in large part, to the measurement instruments, which are described as scarce, and to the fact that organizations tend to develop customized scales that capture only their own reality.…”

“…Mathieu et al (2008), based on the interpretations of Beal, Cohen, Burke, and McLendon (2003), argue the difference between performance behaviors and performance results. Performance behaviors are described as actions relevant to reaching the goal, while performance results would be their consequences.…”