Title: Individual Expertise and Team Performance: Results of Three Empirical Studies
Abstract: Teamwork is one of the most important organizational changes over the past 20 years. Consequently, it becomes more and more important to know what makes teams effective. This dissertation compiles three studies that aimed at investigating the impact of the best team member on team performance beyond the average performance level of the team. The best team member is referred to as an expert. Study 1 tested how the score of the best team member, i.e., the expert, is related to team performance. It was proposed that planning behavior is a mediator. The individual and dyadic problem solving processes from 106 computer science students working on two complex software design tasks were observed. Results showed that the best team member had a positive impact on team performance and that local planning partially mediated the relationship. Study 2 examined in an experimental study with 200 students from non-technical majors how individual performance relates to team performance. In this study, two types of expertise (i.e., actual and perceived expertise) were distinguished. Results showed that actual expertise had a positive impact on team performance but perceived expertise had not. There was also no interaction effect of actual and perceived expertise with respect to team performance. Study 3 examined the impact of individual expertise on team performance in a longitudinal field study. More specifically, it was investigated how the performance of the best team member in different team functions (i.e., task functions and team functions) was related to team performance. Participants were 96 software professionals from 20 teams. As predicted, the best team member in task functions predicted team performance over time and the best team member in team functions accounted for additional variance. This research provides consistent evidence from the laboratory and field research for the outstanding role of the best team member on team performance.
Publication Year: 2006
Publication Date: 2006-09-11
Language: en
Type: dissertation
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Cited By Count: 2
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