Title: The Effects of Group-Level and Individual Contributions on Business Simulation Team Performance
Abstract: AbstractStudies of team performance in business simulations have not investigated the effect of a “star member” of the team on team performance outcomes. This article reports the findings of a study examining the role of team composition variables, team function variables and the effect of a star player on team score in an undergraduate business simulation. As hypothesized, team performance is associated with the performance of a single outstanding player. Among team composition variables, only intrinsic motivation of team members is associated with team score. A composite measure of team function that included team trust, communication and goal clarity was also significantly related to team performance. We discuss the implications of this for team projects and business simulations in particular.Keywords: team performancebusiness simulationspersonalitymotivation Additional informationNotes on contributorsKristin BackhausKristin Backhaus is a professor in the School of Business at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She teaches courses in management, leadership, and human resources, and was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2009. She has published research in the areas of cognitive styles, employer branding, organizational attractiveness, and corporate reputation. She currently serves as President of the Eastern Academy of Management and is a co-editor of Current Empirical Research for Organization Management Journal. She may be reached at [email protected] HeinerKarl Heiner is an associate professor in the School of Business at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He teaches courses in statistics, which include an introductory course on descriptive statistics, probability, and inference and another on modeling (regression and analysis of variance). He has published research in the areas of statistical auditing, health care quality, and statistical computing. He is a member of the American Statistical Association, the Biometric Society, and the Statistical Modelling Society and is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. He may be reached at [email protected].